'will the SPANISH FLY?'
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Many people for whom HIV still definitely means Aids attended
the Conference in Barcelona; people without antiretrovirals but with a
lot of courage. These people were not just a news item on TV. These were
real people claiming the right to drugs and the right to life.
This had a great impact on all of us here, and caused us to feel somewhat
ashamed. Spain, along with the majority of western countries, has not
responded to the calls for economic assistance from the Global Fund, has
not backed other initiatives for access to treatment for developing countries,
and has not invested in the development of Aids vaccines.
Every day dozens of people risk their lives trying to get from Africa
to the southern coasts of Spain. Many die in the attempt. Every day our
televisions show the lifeless bodies of men, women and children who have
traveled to Europe in search of a better life, escaping from countries
with scarce resources. For many of these countries, in particular those
of sub-Saharan Africa, the experience of the Aids epidemic is far more
than merely a medical problem. It has decimated these economies and societies.
How much longer are we going to allow this to happen?
Frankly, I believe that nothing is going to change in Barcelona, in Europe
or in the world unless we maintain the clamour for rights that began in
Durban.
At home in Spain, too, the political class does not appear to have HIV
high on their agenda, in spite of the placating speeches.
But one hopeful thing did happen in this respect in Spain in the lead
up to the conference. Until now, HIV and Aids organisations throughout
Spain have operated in a fragmented manner, forming small local groups,
attempting to cover urgent needs, but isolated from each other. Because
we held the conference in Barcelona, and thanks in large part to the technology
of the internet, communication channels were opened that increased information
exchange. Community organisations and people
helped each other across the geographic spread of what, compared to the UK, is a large and, in parts, poor country.
