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Int'l congress on AIDS closes in Colombo |
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21:04, August 23, 2007 |
The 8th International Congress on AIDS in Asia and the Pacific (ICAAP) closed Thursday in Sri Lankan capital Colombo after passing the Colombo Declaration calling for constant vigil against the epidemic.
The 8th ICAAP Colombo Declaration said that Asia and the Pacific is a mixture of countries with low and high prevalence of HIV/AIDS where the epidemic is still continuing to accelerate.
The declaration said low prevalence countries must maintain their status by addressing HIV/AIDS as a development issue, by employing civil society and people living with HIV/AIDS to fight against the epidemic and by employing focused strategies for prevention.
It also called on development partners not to treat low prevalence countries as low priority ones and to continue to give priority to their needs and technical support.
The declaration said voluntary counselling and testing for HIV should be promoted by removing barriers to universal access to treatment.
The declaration called on government and policy makers to move beyond rhetoric to effect change by taking action against poverty, gender inequality, social marginalisation of vulnerable groups and stigmatization.
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