SECRETARY-GENERAL TO CHAIR AIDS CONFERENCE IN LONDON MONDAY
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UN - New York, Sep 2 2005 4:00PM
United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan will chair a confer-
ence in London next week aimed at funding the global fight
against AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria in 2005 and 2006.
The conference is being held by the Global Fund to Fight AIDS,
Tuberculosis and Malaria, a public-private partnership that has
so far raised $3.7 billion, and was created three years ago at
the initiative of the Secretary-General. The group provides
funding to treat these diseases with life-saving treatment and
prevention activities such as condom procurement and distribu-
tion.
On Monday Mr. Annan will meet with the Fund's Executive Direc-
tor, Richard Feachem. He will also meet with Peter Piot, Execu-
tive Director of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS,
(UNAIDS), and later with other officials attending the confer-
ence.
The following day, Mr. Annan will speak at the opening session
of the conference, attend the pledging session that follows, and
hold bilateral meetings throughout the day. He is expected to
return to New York late Tuesday. Today he is in Europe.
Currently serving 127 countries, the Fund enables recipients to
fight the three diseases by strengthening health systems and
paying for drugs, diagnostics, mosquito nets and other commodi-
ties. The Fund's programs now support 220,000 people on AIDS
treatment and have provided treatment for 600,000 patients with
TB and 1.1 million patients with malaria.