International AIDS Conference, Toronto 2006

Dear Colleagues and Comrades:

We need your voice, we need your pledge, and we need you to MARCH!

The theme of the upcoming International AIDS Conference in Toronto is TIME TO DELIVER.

With 2006 being the 10 year anniversary of life-saving anti-retroviral (ARV) drugs, it is shameful that less than 5 % of those who need the drugs to survive have any access to them.

Treatment saves lives and the time is now to DELIVER. No more planning, caucusing, negotiating, press conferences, inspiring speeches or good intentions. It's TIME TO DELIVER!

ARV treatment must be made accessible to ALL who need it -- now, not later. It is possible with creative plans and committed leadership.

Toronto can be an innovative, problem-solving gathering that generates action -- or -- it can be another expensive conference that generates little action or sustainable benefit. Let's make it about ACTION!

Together, as a community, let's set the tone of the Toronto conference: AIDS Treatment Now - Time To Deliver!

Priorities needed to makes this happen:

Commitment to Universal Access to Care as a human right
Inclusion of local and international NGOs in direct funding mechanisms and in long term planning and implementation

Transparency and accountability in global treatment tracking
Willingness to work together

Toronto Call to Action:

1 million children in treatment We must treat the children. Pediatric formulations and treatment trainings must be pushed to the top of the priority list. These children are the world's future. And mothers of these children must be treated along with them. A world full of millions of AIDS
orphans is a disgrace to us as a human race.

10,000 HIV/AIDS trained treaters Human resources are a major obstacle in achieving universal access to care. Like in any 'war', we need trained community health workers in the field to supplement the limited doctors and nurses available. These kinds of innovative programs utilize available, capable human resources and bring quality jobs and resources back to the community.

1 Billion HIV tests How can we provide universal access to all when 90% of those at risk do not know their HIV status? Convenient, free and voluntary testing must be rolled out on a massive scale. It can be done.

$10 Billion annually Kofi Annan said it - it is going to take an allocation of $10 billion annually to contain HIV/AIDS globally. Yet today, we still only allocate 20% of that. The resources are there - the lives of people living and dying with HIV/AIDS must become a priority.

Middle Income Countries New guidelines must be created allowing these designated countries to access drug prices that are appropriate to the income levels of majority of people at risk.

We ask you to please join in sending a clear message to the politicians, policy makers, funders, drug companies, activists and NGOs attending Toronto - and to the world watching : It's TIME TO DELIVER.

lease sign up now as an advocate in the fight against HIV/AIDS by signing our petition at:

http://ga1.org/campaign/AHFToronto06