We don't want 2 AIDS - one for the rich and one for the poor!
-------------------------------------------------------------
Sunday, 5th December 1999, the 4th Home and Community Conference for
Persons Living with HIV/AIDS opened in Paris.
What follows are two short translated segments from an opening cere-
mony speech by Pierre Berge, (President of Ensemble Contre le Sida),
where he highlights the importance of treatment access issues and the
responsibility of the Northern countries in this context.
--
"We fight a huge battle so that every new treatment is immediately
accessible to all those who need it in France. We have not yet suc-
ceeded because the pharmaceutical industry is creating incomprehensi-
ble resistances, valuing profit above any humanitarian considera-
tions. If the pharmaceuticals are not capable of humanism, then
there's no need for their existence. If a private company is not ca-
pable of relieving suffering in society, then society should not sup-
port it. Furthermore, it should be contested.
There are links to be established between countries of the north and
the south. These medicines, utilized in France, improve patients'
quality of life so much, that their efficiency cannot be denied.
Through out the world, however, these medicines are not accessible to
those who need it most; every minute, four people die of AIDS. We de-
mand that the pharmaceuticals immediately make all these medicines
available. We don't want two AIDS: one for the rich and one for the
poor."
--
HCCare Key Correspondent Team <care@hivnet.ch>
Cross posted from HCCare
***** IF YOU ARE ALREADY A MEMBER OF HCCare (care@hivnet.ch) *****
Do nothing - you should expect up to 8 short postings a day from the
conference
***** IF YOU NOT ARE ALREADY A MEMBER OF HCCare *****
To join HCCare (Home and Community Care Forum) send an e-mail to:
<care@hivnet.ch>
with the word "join" in the subject line. You will automatically be
sent each day's messages.
If you have full internet access you can join or browse messages to
date at:
http://www.hivnet.ch:8000/topics/care/
Fourth International Conference on Home and Community Care for Per-
sons Living with HIV/AIDS (Paris 99 VIH): For a Renewed Solidarity
5 to 8th December, 1999,
Paris, France
http://www.parisvih99.org
--
Send mail for the `AFRO-NETS' conference to `afro-nets@usa.healthnet.org'.
Mail administrative requests to `majordomo@usa.healthnet.org'.
For additional assistance, send mail to: `owner-afro-nets@usa.healthnet.org'.