Holy See urges more effort in AIDS battle

(Wed.23 May,2007):- The Holy See says the price tag on the HIV/AIDS battle can seem overwhelming, but the cost is only a fraction, of what the world community could easily provide. Archbishop Celestino Migliore made the remarks on Tuesday at the U.N. general assembly meeting on the implementation of the declaration of commitment on HIV/AIDS. He said : - "The fact that only 2 million of the 7.1 million people needing anti-retroviral drugs receive them, represents a sorrowful ratio," Archbishop Migliore noted that the resources globally required, is thought to be in the region of 18 billion dollars and 22 billion dollars for 2007 and 2008 respectively, for low - or middle-income countries for HIV. He said these apparently large numbers, actually represent only 3 to 4 dollars per person on the planet. This is only a fraction of what we - as a world community can and should do. All of us must clearly step up our efforts “, explained Vatican’s Permanent Representative at the UN. Archbishop Migliore then cited the U.N. report's estimation of the four greatest challenges in the HIV/AIDS battle: "Caring for the 39.5 million people presently living with HIV; reducing the number of people dying annually from AIDS, which in 2006 was 2.9 million; preventing new infections, which currently run at some 4 million per year; and taking special care of young people, who accounted for 40% of new infections last year." Archbishop Migliore reiterated that the Holy See is active in responding to this disease, through its ongoing support for a worldwide network of some 1,600 hospitals, 6,000 clinics, and 12,000 initiatives of a charitable and social nature in developing countries."