Mr. Speaker, World AIDS Day, which is held every year on December 1, has chosen as its theme stigma and discrimination, which remain the main barriers when it comes to preventing HIV/AIDS and dealing with it effectively.
Too many people continue to refuse treatment for AIDS or refuse to publically acknowledge that they carry HIV for fear that they will suffer discrimination.
However, the statistics are alarming: three million people have died of AIDS in 2002; five million new cases have been reported, including two million cases among women, and 800,000 involving children under the age of 15; 42 million people around the world are now infected and if nothing drastic is done, more than 68 million people will die from AIDS by 2020.
By focussing on stigma and discrimination, World AIDS Day encourages people to break the silence and remove the barriers to preventing and dealing with HIV/AIDS effectively. The fight against HIV/AIDS will only be won when—