IRELAND: The US and the EU must join forces in the fight against AIDS, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Cowen, said after the closing session of a special two-day conference in Dublin Castle attended by health and development ministers from all over Europe and central Asia.
"We should coordinate more at the country level, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa.
"We should work together to ensure that the Global Fund [to fight AIDS, TB and Malaria] is adequately resourced.
"We should collaborate on the search for an AIDS vaccine. We should co-operate more on the supply of life-saving drugs to the infected in the poorest countries. We must jointly talk to African leaders about their needs." He told a press conference that co-operation on AIDS was "a possible issue" for the agenda of an EU-US summit [expected to take place here in June] given the public health and security implications of the AIDS epidemic.
Delegates to the conference adopted a 2,500-word "Dublin Declaration on Partnership to Fight HIV/AIDS in Europe and central Asia" featuring an action programme with 33 specific targets or goals.
The conference was chaired by the Minister of State for Development Co-operation and Human Rights, Mr Tom Kitt.
Noting that it had been described as an historic occasion, he commented: "It will be if we follow up on the process."
The main item of contention in behind-the-scenes negotiations on the declaration was the issue of what approach to take towards injecting drug-users.
Young people in this category are reported to be the primary victims of HIV/AIDS in the former Communist countries of eastern Europe and central Asia.
The key issue of debate in this context was the extent to which a pragmatic approach should be taken towards injecting drug-users, providing "harm reduction" services such as needles free from AIDS infection, and Methadone as a substitute for Heroin.
Informed sources said the Swedish delegation pushed hard, with support from a minority of other countries, for a tough line of advocating strict abstention from hard drugs and against what it regarded as an excessively pragmatic approach.
In the end, a compromise wording was agreed, specifying that each country would act in line with its national policy on drug addiction.
The declaration calls on heads of state and government to give "strong and accountable leadership" on HIV/AIDS.
Experts say one of the major difficulties is the fact that some governments are "in denial" about the prevalence of the disease in their countries.
A key target in the declaration is the elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV/AIDS in eastern Europe and central Asia.
Specialists in the field say this has already been largely achieved in western Europe.
The final text was welcomed by Dóchas, representing 33 Irish development aid agencies, with the proviso that it must now be implemented in practice.
"What is needed now is action in order to ensure the Dublin Declaration is more than just words," said a Dóchas spokeswoman, Ms Ruth Johnston.
Dóchas, which had criticised an earlier draft of the document as too vague, said it particularly welcomed "the commitment on early implementation of the World Trade Organisation decision on improving access of the poorest countries to the medicines necessary for those living with HIV/AIDS".
However, Dóchas complained that, "Despite describing HIV/AIDs as an emergency, only some of the declaration's commitments have been time-bound. This will make it harder to ensure the declaration is in fact implemented.
"Neither have the participating states raised any extra funds to fight the disease."
What hope now for the world war against AIDS?: page 16; Editorial comment: page 17