Thank you very much, Mr. Chair, for the opportunity to speak to the committee as you review this legislation.
I am with the Interagency Coalition on AIDS and Development, which is an umbrella group of 150 member agencies: front-line AIDS groups working in Canada, development agencies, professional associations, and labour organizations. I represent ICAD on international bodies like the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and the United Nations AIDS program.
We had an opportunity to address this committee in 2004. As I look back at my notes, it is really quite interesting to compare some of the things that were brought up. Our concerns at the time are still coming up and need to be spoken about again.
At that time we noted that this was a very important piece of legislation. This is part of a comprehensive Canadian response to a health crisis in the world. As you know, there are three million people dying of AIDS every year, two million dying of TB, and a million dying, unnecessarily, of malaria. That commitment was made by Canadians, through their Parliament, and it was made with the best intentions.
Since 2004, a number of things have changed, which I would like to highlight. There is a bigger political commitment now than there was in 2004. At the G8 meetings in 2005, the world, including Canada, made a commitment that by 2010 everyone who needs access to HIV/AIDS treatment will have it. That was called the universal access commitment. It was bold. It was then reinforced at the United Nations, where all countries in the world endorsed it in June 2006.
There has been a change in terms of the financing, the money that is needed. The Global Fund, which is the main mechanism for disbursing funds for AIDS, TB, and malaria programs, was just getting started in 2004. But funding has been ramped up. The Global Fund has $7.1 billion worth of funding for AIDS, TB and malaria programs in 136 countries. By 2010, they will probably have about $8 billion for funds, the majority of which is going to drugs and other health consumables. The money is there.
That piece of the puzzle needs to be reaffirmed every year. Canada has made a reasonable contribution to the global fund of about 4%, and we are hoping it will continue with that level of commitment.
There was talk of bottlenecks. There is always a concern about bottlenecks, but they are being addressed very aggressively. As you know, at the G8 meeting last year, Prime Minister Harper made a very bold commitment of $450 million over 10 years, which is being spent on strengthening health systems.
This program is being rolled out by CIDA over the next few years. It is the kind of program that will address not only the infrastructure problems that exist in some countries but some of the health professional shortages, by providing enhanced environments and training.
There is a clear need. I think that has been underlined by what Stephen and my colleagues have said. People are going to be on treatment forever. Right now, as Stephen mentioned, there should be five million people on treatment. By 2010, there should be eight million to ten million people on treatment. That means treatment for HIV for life. Bigger numbers will need the second-line treatments.
There is also a need for the complex treatments related to TB. Increasing numbers of people are not able to have treatment with the off-patent TB drugs. We need much more of the fancy drugs that Canada can produce.
In conclusion, I believe the suggestions that the HIV/AIDS Legal Network and the University of Toronto are putting forward concerning fixing this legislation should be taken into consideration.
I am convinced, more than ever, that the legislation is worth fixing. As you look at these things, you wonder if this effort is worth it. Well, it is. You're damn right it is. You are going to save a lot of people's lives. This is an important piece of work that can have an impact not only in the short term, but also in the long term, and I think Canadians can be justifiably proud if it is fixed properly and we make this important step to a comprehensive response.
Thank you.