הודעת קופי אנאן מזכ"ל האו"ם ביום האיידס העולמי 2001

Message for World AIDS Day 2000 from Kofi Annan, Secretary-General of the

"The turn of the millennium has provided us with an occasion for profound
reflection about the type of world we want to live in, and the kind of
legacy we want to leave for future generations. There is no more important
issue for us to consider than AIDS. Will we burden our children and our
children's children with a global HIV/AIDS pandemic? Or can we take
decisive action now to turn back the progress of this disease?

"In some parts of the world, the past year has seen evidence of an
explosive spread of HIV/AIDS. In others, there are signs that the epidemic
has stabilized -- but often only after an unacceptably high proportion of
the population had become infected. Many nations have demonstrated that it
is possible to hold the spread in check. But even in the richest countries
even among those that have achieved the greatest success against the
epidemic, this requires a constant renewal of the struggle.

"The actions of every one of us can make a difference. This year, I would
like to highlight the role of men, who can make a particular difference: b
being more caring, by taking fewer risks, and by facing the issue of AIDS
head-on. Until and unless we grasp that AIDS is our problem, we will be
blind to the steps we need to take to protect ourselves and others against
it. We will be powerless to reduce its impact. This applies as much to a
leader planning the allocation of national resources, as it does to a
husband planning his future with his wife or a father planning for the
future of his child.

"From the world stage to the most intimate moments, AIDS requires us to
open our eyes and not dismiss it as "someone else's issue". It requires us
to open our minds to community solutions that work in the struggle against
AIDS. It requires us to open our arms to people living with HIV/AIDS and
give them our solidarity and support.

"At the Millennium Summit three months ago, the world's leaders resolved
that by 2015, we will have halted and begun to reverse the spread of
HIV/AIDS. Next June, we will have an unprecedented opportunity to follow u
on that resolve. The General Assembly will convene a Special Session to
review all aspects of the AIDS problem and to secure a coordinated global
commitment in the struggle against it. It will provide us with an occasion
as never before to face up to our responsibility to future generations, an
take decisive action now to turn back the progress of this terrible diseas

This is a message from 'Nigeria-AIDS', the electronic conference on
HIV/AIDS in Nigeria.

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