Durban Chamber and IBV Celebrate Children's Rights at the Aids Conference

Speakers from local government, business and the international Aids awareness community gathered at The Big Easy restaurant at the Hilton Hotel in Durban to discuss the challenging aspects of HIV/Aids and the role of government and the public sector to combat the global Aids pandemic.

"We need innovation if we want to reach all those children who are not getting help Years ago we needed 18 pills to fight the disease now we only take one pill, in the near future all it will take is an injection." Said UNAIDSExecutive Director, Michel SidibÈ.

Close to 17 million Africans are on antiretroviral drugs and a new generation ofAIDSfree children have been born. But the UNAIDSexecutive director thinks it will be better for Africa to have its own vision and be able to produce its own drugs.

"The statistics are sobering." Commented the MC Dumile Cele,Chief Executive Officer for Durban Chamber of Commerce, "With 3.4 million people on antiretroviral treatment is South Africa alone."

More than 18,000 scientists, clinicians, experts, civil society representatives and leaders have descended on Durban for theInternational Aids Conference.

Yajna Ramsunder, IBV Children's VIPDay founder, urged corporates and sponsors to get involved in this unique and one of a kind CSI initiative. The IBV Children's VIPDay is to be held on August 13 at the Durban ICC. Yajna spoke of the joy of 3000 children who are invited annually and who are clothed and fed and spoilt with wonderful treats and live entertainment by top South African performers.

Quoting Nelson Mandela, "HIV/Aids is having a devastating impact on families, communities, societies and economies. Decades have been chopped from life expectancy and young child mortality is expected to more than double in the most severely affected countries of Africa. Aids is clearly a disaster, effectively wiping out the development gains of the past decades and sabotaging the future."

It is clear that a debate on innovative financing forHIV/AIDS in Africa has since began, as the continent strengthens its fight against the pandemic.