Speaking at the opening ceremony, Dr Joep Lange, President of the International AIDS Society (IAS), reminded delegates of the watershed AIDS conference held in Durban in 2000, which catapulted a concerted effort in mobilising for affordable AIDS drug prices and for governments to make treatment available in the public health sector.

South Africa’s youngest AIDS icon, Nkosi Johnson, presented his ‘I am HIV-positive’ speech at that conference at a time when the President of the country questioned the link between HIV and AIDS.

But the opening of the XV International AIDS Conference in Bangkok at the weekend, showed a significant shift in thinking and policy of the entire international community from government perspectives to pharmaceutical companies and from world organisations such as the United Nations to donor organisations and nations.

Dr Lange said: ‘Since 2000 medicines are a lot cheaper, the United Nations has established the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria in developing nations, the WHO has established a plan to treat three million people in poor countries by next year (2005)’, he said. However, ‘a lot still needs to be done to build on the successes.’

For the first time in its fifteen-year history, the bi-annual International AIDS Conference has opened participation to political leaders. This week will see sessions focussing on why ‘leaders are critical in the fight against HIV and AIDS.’

This decision might be in line with the last bi-annual AIDS conference held in Barcelona, Spain, whose theme was ‘Commitment to Action,’ which called on politicians and governments to take responsibility and make treatment available in the public health sector. This year’s theme is ‘Access (to treatment) to All.’

But Koffi Annan, Secretary-General of the United Nations, cautioned that leadership is not a quality only to be found among ‘people in higher positions in government, or in business.’

He challenged delegates on a three-point course of action after this conference: to go back to their countries and scale up infrastructure in the prevention of HIV and the enhancement of AIDS treatment; to empower women and girls to protect themselves against the virus; and to build a strong leadership.

He said ‘leadership is showing by example… including providing treatment to those who need it.’€™

He added that in reply to those who asked why AIDS is treated differently from other diseases one should answer that ‘€˜It stands alone in human experience.’

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