Spain Donates 10m Euros to UN’s War on AIDS

Excerpt from report by Spanish newspaper La Razon website, on 4 August

Mexico: The first deputy prime minister, Maria Teresa Fernandez de la Vega, announced yesterday, Sunday – during her speech at the 17th international conference on AIDS, being held in Mexico – a new contribution of 10.2m euros to UNAIDS with the aim of fighting the disease. Of that sum, 3m will be dedicated to supporting the activities of the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative and 1.5m to the International Partnership for Microbicides.

The Spanish government had already committed itself to providing 600m dollars to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria for the period 2008-2012. In the field of HIV vaccine research, Spain has also contributed 1m euros a year since 2005 to the European platform for clinical tests. Last year, moreover, it granted another 1m euros to the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI). [Passage omitted]

During her speech at the opening session of the conference, which is being held for the first time in a Latin American country, the deputy prime minister stressed that the disease is not only a problem of health but also one of development, social justice and equality. She also emphasized that effectively fighting its spread also entails fighting all forms of inequality. She therefore recalled that “the huge differences in access to health resources, drugs and health services mean that AIDS – which is today a practically chronic disease in some countries – remains a real mortal epidemic in large areas of the world”. [Passage omitted]

Originally published by La Razon website, Madrid, in Spanish 4 Aug 08.

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