Share on Facebook
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Every year, on World AIDS Day, we remember those who lost their lives to the AIDS epidemic, we recognise the progress made until now, and we celebrate those inspirational leaders who fought so hard to get us to where we are today.
But World AIDS Day, in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, has a special resonance. We all have so much to learn from the global response to HIV/AIDS over the past 40 years.
On the importance of global solidarity, inclusivity, equality and innovation.
On the urgent need to support the most vulnerable groups in our societies.
So I am delighted to join today’s event and I want to thank HIV Outcomes for gathering us today.
Thanks to treatment advances, life expectancy has significantly increased for people living with HIV and the HIV population is larger than ever.
Too often, we focus on the disease, and not on the person behind the disease.
That needs to change. And it is time to pay more attention to the long-term well-being of people living with HIV – especially as they get older.
As a first step, we need to make HIV services easily accessible and to tailor health services to the needs of patients.
We need new approaches to prevention, treatment and care.
And we need to put fundamental human rights first, so that we can end stigma and discrimination.
COVID-19 highlights the fault lines in our societies and our health systems – it amplifies inequalities, targets vulnerable groups, and reveals the tendency to under-finance and under-prioritise health.
I know that HIV patients have been impacted severely.
We need to respond and to address these inequalities – including those that exist for people living with HIV in regard to health-related quality of life.
We are taking decisive, coordinated steps to create more inclusive, more equal and healthier societies.
Firstly, we proposed a European Health Union that will improve the resilience of our health systems.
Secondly, our financial instruments - such as EU4Health - will support efforts to strengthen health systems and community response, as well as better clinical management.
Team Europe remains the largest contributors to the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.
Lastly, we are working with Member States in the Steering Group on Prevention and Promotion to identify and share best practices that can deliver concrete benefits to citizens.
In the near future other areas, such as HIV/AIDS will also benefit from this approach.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Let me finish with an important point:
We need to put the patient at the very centre of this discussion – every step of the way.
We will continue pushing for patient-centred care as part of well-functioning health systems.
And I want to thank HIV Outcomes and other stakeholders who give voice to people living with HIV/AIDS.
I urge you all to speak up – loudly and systematically.
I assure you that we are listening carefully to every word.
