"Mr Harper, where are you?"

The question, repeated by thousands of participants at the opening of the world's biggest-ever AIDS conference, mired what was otherwise an impressive show of defiance in the face of one of mankind's most devastating adversaries.

The unexplained absence of Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper was initially questioned by Steven Page, lead singer of Canadian band Barenaked Ladies, at the concert staged as part of the XVI International AIDS Conference's opening ceremony on Sunday night (local time).

Harper's refusal to attend stood in stark contrast to the ranks of powerful and influential figures, headed by Bill Gates, who presented a unified resolve to battle HIV/AIDS along with the conference's more than 20,000 other participants.

"Mr Harper, you have made a mistake that puts you on the wrong side of history," said conference co-chair Dr Mark Wainberg. "The role of prime minister includes the responsibility to show leadership on the world stage. Your absence sends a message that you do not regard HIV/AIDS as a critical priority."

Wainberg did not explain why the prime minister had refused to attend the conference, which this year has the theme "Time to Deliver."

In failing to attend Harper missed the chance to mingle with the close to 27,000 politicians, scientists, doctors, community volunteers and journalists from more than 170 countries who were at the event.

Angry guests passed round pictures of the prime minister with the message "MISSING" emblazoned across them. Below Harper's photo was printed: "This August world leaders, scientists and community volunteers gathered in Toronto for the largest meeting ever to discuss HIV/AIDS in Canada and around the world. Yet the prime minister refuses to attend."

Harper did have a printed welcome letter circulated at the conference. It carried the slightly ironic message: "From our experience in fighting HIV/AIDS, it is clear that everyone's contribution is important."

The letter failed to calm the storm caused by his absence at the start of the week-long event, which has been held twice before in Canada in Montreal in 1989 and in Vancouver in 1996.

It wasn't all anger at the ceremony though Bill Gates, HIV/AIDS sufferers and community volunteers all received thunderous applause as they delivered speeches calling on the world to take immediate action to contain the pandemic.

"We want to call on everyone here and around the world to help speed up what we hope will be the next big breakthrough in the fight against AIDS the discovery of a microbicide or an oral prevention drug that can block the transmission of HIV," said Gates.

Saying that "stopping AIDS is the Gates Foundation's top priority," he emphasized that much better prevention measures are needed to avoid millions of new HIV infections and keep pace with the rapidly-growing demand for treatment.

Just last week the Gates Foundation pledged US$500 million for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. The pledge followed the foundation's promise last month to provide US$287 million for HIV vaccine development.

"Twenty-five years from now, let us look back at AIDS 2006 as a turning point in the epidemic a moment in history where we saw an opportunity to stem the tide of HIV and chose to act decisively," said conference co-chair Dr Helene Gayle, president of the International AIDS Society.

But even speeches by Gates and leading doctors failed to measure up to the voice of a young girl living with HIV, who addressed the ceremony.

"In my country and many other countries, we have high-level commitments, we have financial resources, and we also have antiretroviral drugs. But we can not deliver them to those who need them the most people who live far away from the capital or major cities," said Frika Iskandar from Indonesia.

According to a release from the conference, the majority of world's 40 million HIV/AIDS victims are living in poverty-stricken countries and regions in Africa and Asia, where many patients are unable to get timely medical treatment because of poverty or ignorance.

Iskandar called on the world to offer more support to the millions of impoverished people living with the disease.

"Is there still hope for a cure? Is there still hope for a vaccine?" she asked, saying hope was what kept people alive. "As the new face of AIDS, I know I can deliver. Can you?"

Source: China Daily