The death of millions of people from AIDS is a global "scandal", the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, told a major conference in Dublin today.
The Taoiseach, Mr Ahern
"When the history of our time is written, our generation will have to answer for our response to the suffering of the poor in Africa," he said.
Opening Breaking the Barriers - the Fight against HIV/AIDS in Europe and Central Asia- one of the largest conferences of Ireland's EU presidency - Mr Ahern said that responding to global threats to health and development demands collective action by the Union.
"It is one the greatest scandals of our times that millions of people are dying needlessly, children are being left defenceless and exposed to the disease, and decades of hard-won development are in reverse," he said.
The Global Fund to tackle the problem must be properly resourced so it can provide prevention programmes, care and treatment.
Other elements of a strategy to tackle the epidemic include better education to prevent young people in particular, from contracting the disease and to combat discrimination against sufferers. The EU's pharmaceutical industry also has an important role to play, Mr Ahern said.
Wealthier nations are correct in making sub-Saharan Africa the focus of action to tackle the epidemic and issues such as international security should not push AIDS/HIV down the agenda, he said.
But developed countries must be sure to "practice what we preach" and not assume the problem is confined to Africa. He warned against "complacency and inaction in our own region", noting "explosive" increases in HIV/AIDS recorded in Europe and Central Asia.
"Political leaders have a fundamental obligation to ensure that this terrible disease does not undermine our societies and economies," Mr Ahern said.
"This conference is just the beginning of an important new phase in the global fight against HIV/AIDS," he concluded. The conference is due to adopt a programme for combating HIV/AIDS, to be called "The Dublin Declaration".
Later, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan told the conference by video-link that it would be a "deadly mistake" to assume the diseaseonly affects those "outside the mainstream of life".
Mr Annan pointed out that in the past five years HIV/AIDS has grown faster in Eastern Europe and Central Asia than any other part of the world, rising from 30,000 infections in 1998 to 1.5 million.
"Not only has the disease attacked new parts of the world. It is also constantly making inroads into new communities. In both East and West we must constantly adapt our strategies to new conditions, and work with new partners," Mr Annan said.
Among other speakers at the two-day conference are: the president of the European Parliament, Mr Pat Cox; Ireland's European commissioner, Mr David Byrne; the President of Portugal, Dr Jorge Sampaio; Prime Minister of Romania, Mr Adrian Nastase; South Africa's Archbishop Desmond Tutu; campaigner and musician Bob Geldof and the former UN human rights commissioner Mrs Mary Robinson.