MEDIA RELEASE
Released By:
Downer
I am pleased to announce a new partnership - between the Australian Government and the William J. Clinton Foundation - that will strengthen our efforts to combat the spread of HIV/AIDS in the Asia Pacific Region. President Clinton and I will formalise the partnership by signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in Sydney today.
Under the MOU, the Australian Government will provide $25 million over four years, complemented by funding from the Clinton Foundation. Initially, joint activities will focus on three countries - Papua New Guinea, Vietnam and China.
The Foundation and AusAID will work together with public health authorities in each country to scale-up treatment and care for people living with HIV/AIDS. This will include availability of anti-retroviral drugs, improving laboratory and testing infrastructure and strengthening monitoring and evaluation systems.
The United Nations estimates more than eight million people in the Asia Pacific region are living with HIV and that this figure will reach 20 million by 2010 - if we do not accelerate our response. A joint UN-Asian Development Bank study puts economic losses from HIV/AIDS in the Asia Pacific in 2001 at about $10 billion and projects annual financial losses of up to $24 billion by 2010.
Ahead of today's MOU signing I will officially launch the Asia Pacific Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS. This initiative by AusAID, in partnership with the Lowy Institute for International Affairs, recognises the long-term threat that HIV/AIDS poses for Australian business.
Through the government's partnership with the Clinton Foundation and by enlisting the input and expertise of our corporate sector, the Australian response to the spread of HIV in the Asia Pacific Region is being greatly accelerated.
Media contacts:
Chris Kenny (Minister's Office): 0419 206 890
AusAID (Public Affairs): 0417 680 590