DURBAN, South Africa (AP) – Prince Harry is warning against complacency in the fight against AIDS, saying inaction has set in as the epidemic has drifted from the headlines and people live longer with the disease.
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Speaking about the trial, Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Disease, said “the obvious question is this: can we now replicate those [successful] results and can we improve upon them with grater breadth, depth and potency?”
“The U.S. government’s commitment to ending the AIDS epidemic can not be overstated”, said Ambassador Deborah L. Birx, U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator and Special Representative for Global Health Diplomacy. She smashed the stigma around HIV on more than one occasion.
Over the last decade working in Lesotho, I’ve seen first hand the unbelievable progress that has been made in treating the physical and mental effects of HIV.
“We can not lose a sense of urgency, because despite all the progress we have made, HIV remains among the most pressing and urgent of global challenges – 1.1m people died of AIDS and 2.1m were infected previous year alone”. In my own country, infection rates are still rising amongst important groups despite the availability of instant testing and universal access to treatment.
He said a new generation of leaders must step forward on the issue and make sure no young person feels any shame in being tested. “We will be there for them, and we will battle every step of the way”. Throughout the course of AIDS 2016 and beyond, PEPFAR will continue to translate words and policy into concrete actions, including: As a global community, we have made great progress, but there is much work to be done to end AIDS by 2030 (#EndAIDS2030).
The Prince added: “What I believe is that we can not beat HIV without giving young people in every country the voice they deserve”. But imagine what would happen. if children were given the tools to protect their health‚ to speak out against stigma‚ and support their friends and family.
He said he was inspired to get involved in the fight against AIDS after a visit to Lesotho in 2004.
In 2006, Prince Harry and Prince Seeiso of the African nation Lesotho founded Sentebale.
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The British royal spoke at the International AIDS Conference in South Africa on Thursday.
