"We also have a vital role in managing disappointment. We have to use drug and vaccine trials as opportunities to strengthen the healthcare that's already there. If a trial
ends at phase I or II and we don't get a new drug or
vaccine out of it people must still be left better off than if it had
never happened - or we'll rightly be accused of setting people up as guinea-pigs.
"And we still have to make sure we're centrally involved in HIV education
and prevention so that it doesn't stigmatise us."
Anyone doubting that there isn't still work to be done? Shaun would probably
like to have a word with you...
page 4 of 5
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In the most inspiring speech at the closing ceremony,
Maire Bopp-Dupont from Tahiti, the first publicly-positive Pacific
Islander, echoed concerns about turning the fine words into saving lives...
Greetings from the islands of the Pacific Ocean! It is an honour to come
here from one of the smallest communities of the world.
I'm putting my hands together, turning to the Thai delegation and asking
this:
"More space and opportunities, please, for the community in 2004,
so that they don't feel left out of a world gathering on HIV. No more
huge booths for rich pharmaceutical companies, but only tiny little rooms
for the hundreds of community groups."
Throughout years of work, often with small resources, groups of people
with
HIV have fought to make a difference, to elevate people
and bring warmth to the less fortunate.
Of course, pharmaceutical companies, you too are essential to the fight
against HIV/Aids. But more than two-thirds of people living with HIV are
still hoping that one day they may get free treatment. For them, for us,
two dollars a pill is still a fortune.
Fighting against HIV/Aids is battling for life and equality. It is a war
in which money is the key to victory, and calls for money have probably
never been as loud as during this conference. Maybe it's
because we've seen that there is so much out there - which only awaits to be orientated
