Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2000-09-05-Speech-2-119"
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"en.20000905.9.2-119"2
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"Madam President, everyone in this debate has emphasised the importance of preventive measures. As we know, there is an old saying, prevention is better than cure. With the approximately 15 years’ experience we have had of this epidemic – I myself have been active in connection with both the UN and the Red Cross – I can, however, see that we have not listened especially carefully to that saying.
As long as ten years ago, it was extremely clear how serious this epidemic could become in certain developing countries, but too little was done both in those countries and by the international community. It is debatable what the reasons are why this epidemic hit poor countries especially hard, compared with how it affected countries in our own part of the world. It obviously has to do with poverty, with lack of information and education, with patterns of sexual behaviour and, specifically, with young girls’ lack of education of a kind which would better enable them to resist sexual advances. It also has to do, of course, with the shortage of money within the health care sector.
I welcome the fact that both Commissioner Nielson and the French Presidency now regard and describe the work on combating the HIV epidemic as a main priority. Money is not enough, however. Instead, we must ensure that the Commission obtains a sufficient number of qualified staff so that it is not isolated employees who are trying to push ahead with these issues.
It is also important to have new kinds of cooperation with the pharmaceuticals industry so that we can produce not only vaccines, but also medicines. This applies not only to HIV but also to malaria. We need to be guided by innovative thinking in this area.
When, finally, we talk about partnership, it is, as Commissioner Nielson said, extremely important to seek out whatever proves to have worked and to support it. There is a whole host of programmes which are crying out for money and where contributions from the EU could be of use.
We talk a very great deal about Africa. I am afraid that, in five to ten years’ time, the situation will be similar and very serious in parts of Asia. I welcome Commissioner Nielson’s conference on 28 September 2000 and hope that it will lead to something of a crash programme for tackling these problems still more vigorously in the future."@en1
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