DUBLIN DECLARATION: The following is an edited version of the action programme in the Dublin Declaration which was adopted in Dublin Castle yesterday at the end of a two-day conference on HIV/AIDS in Europe and central Asia, attended by representatives of 55 governments.
1. Promote strong and accountable leadership at the level of our heads of state and government to protect our people from this threat to their future, and promote human rights and tackle stigma and ensure access to education, information and services for all those in need.
2. Encourage and facilitate strong leadership by civil society and the private sector in our countries in contributing to the achievement of the goals and targets set by the 2001 UN Declaration of Commitment.
3. Accelerate the implementation of the provisions of the UN Declaration of Commitment relating to orphans and girls and boys infected and affected.
4. Establish and reinforce national HIV/AIDS partnership forums.
5. In 2004-2005, promote the active involvement of the institutions of the European Union, and other relevant institutions and organisations, in our common effort.
6. Make the fight against HIV/AIDS in Europe and central Asia a regular item on the agendas of our regional institutions and organisations.
7. Provide increased and results-based financial and technical resources to scale up access to prevention, care and sustained treatment, including effective low-cost treatment such as generics, in the most affected countries with the greatest needs through national and regional allocations as well as from the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and malaria, the European Union, new public and private partnerships, multilateral and bilateral financing mechanisms.
8. Reinvigorate our efforts to ensure the target of the UN Declaration of Commitment that, by 2005, at least 90 per cent of young men and women aged 15 to 24 have access to the information, education and services necessary to reduce their vulnerability;
9. By 2010, ensure through the scaling-up of programmes that 80 per cent of the persons at the highest risk of and most vulnerable to HIV/AIDS are covered by a wide range of prevention programmes.
10. Scale up access for injecting drug users to prevention, drug dependence treatment and harm reduction services through promoting, enabling and strengthening the widespread introduction of prevention, drug dependence treatment and harm reduction programmes (e.g. needle and syringe programmes, bleach and condom distribution, voluntary HIV counselling and testing, substitution drug therapy, STI diagnosis and treatment) in line with national policies;
11. Ensure that HIV positive women and expectant mothers should have access to high-quality maternal and reproductive health care services in order to prevent mother to child-transmission.
12. By 2010, eliminate HIV infection among infants in Europe and Central Asia;
13. Ensure men, women and adolescents have universal and equitable access to a comprehensive range of high-quality, safe, accessible, affordable and reliable reproductive and sexual health care services, supplies and information including access to preventive methods such as male and female condoms, voluntary testing, counselling and follow-up.
14. By 2005, to develop national and regional strategies and programmes to increase the capacity of women and adolescent girls to protect themselves from the risk of HIV infection.
15. By 2005, to develop national and regional strategies ensuring that all men and women in uniformed services have access to information, services and prevention commodities to reduce risk-taking behaviour.
16. Control the incidence and prevalence of sexually-transmitted infections.
17. Fund, improve, and harmonise surveillance systems;
18. Request the Global Commission on International Migration to take into account in its work the threat of exposure to HIV/AIDS.
19. Increase commitment to research and development;
20. Combat stigma and discrimination.
21. By 2005, provide universal access to effective, affordable and equitable prevention, treatment and care including safe anti-retroviral treatment.
22. Ensure early implementation of the WTO Decision of August 30th 2003 on the implementation of Paragraph Six of the Doha Declaration on the TRIPS Agreement and Public Health.
23. Increase access to non-discriminatory palliative care.
24. Invest in public research and development.
25. Monitor best practices and take concrete steps to exchange information.
26. Strengthen co-ordination, co-operation and partnership among the countries of Europe and central Asia.
27. Involve civil society and faith-based organisations, as well as people living with HIV/AIDS and persons at the highest risk of and most vulnerable to HIV/AIDS infection in the development and implementation of national HIV/AIDS prevention and care strategies and financing plans.
28. Work with leaders from the private sector in fighting HIV/AIDS.
29. Involve the national and international pharmaceutical industry in a public-private partnership.
30. Ensure effective co-ordination between donors, multilateral organisations, civil society and governments.
31. Establish sustainable partnerships with the media.
32. Support stronger regional co-operation and networking among people living with HIV/AIDS and civil society organisations in Europe and central Asia.
33. We commit ourselves to closely monitor and evaluate the implementation of the actions outlined in this Declaration.
The full text of the Declaration is available on The Irish Times website, ireland.com