Closing Address at the 13th International AIDS Conference

Durban 14 July 2000,

To have been asked to deliver the closing address at this conference which in
a very literal sense concerns itself with matters of life and death, weighs
heavily upon me for the gravity of the responsibility placed on one.

No disrespect is intended towards the many other occasions where one has been
privileged to speak, if I say that this is the one event where every word
uttered, every gesture made, had to be measured against the effect it can and
will have on the lives of millions of concrete, real human beings all over this
continent and planet. This is not an academic conference. This is, as I
understand it, a gathering of human beings concerned about turning around one of
the greatest threats humankind has faced, and cer tainly the greatest after the
end of the great wars of the previous century.

It is never my custom to use words lightly. If twenty-seven years in prison
have done anything to us, it was to use the silence of solitude to make us
understand how precious words are and how real speech is in its impact upon the
way people live or die.

If by way of introduction I stress the importance of the way we speak, it is
also because so much unnecessary attention around this conference had been
directed towards a dispute that is unintentionally distracting from the real
life and death issues we ar e confronted with as a country, a region, a
continent and a world.

I do not know nearly enough about science and its methodologies or about the
politics of science and scientific practice to even wish to start contributing
to the debate that has been raging on the perimeters of this conference.

I am, however, old enough and have gone through sufficient conflicts and
disputes in my life-time to know that in all disputes a point is arrived at
where no party, no matter how right or wrong it might have been at the start of
that dispute, will any long er be totally in the right or totally in the wrong.
Such a point, I believe, has been reached in this debate.

The President of this country is a man of great intellect who takes
scientific thinking very seriously and he leads a government that I know to be
committed to those principles of science and reason.

The scientific community of this cuntry, I also know, holds dearly to the
principle of freedom of scientific enquiry, unencumbered by undue political
interference in and direction of science.

Now, however, the ordinary people of the continent and the world -and
particularly the poor who on our continent, will again carry a disproportionate
burden of this scourge - would, if anybody cared to ask their opinions, wish
that the dispute about the pr imacy of politics or science be put on the
backburner and that we proceed to address the needs and concerns of those
suffering and dying. And this can only be done in partnership.

I come from a long tradition of collective leadership, consultative
decision-making and joint action towards the common good. We have overcome much
that many thought insurmountable through an adherence to those practices. In the
face of the grave threat po sed by HIV/Aids, we have to rise above our
differences and combine our efforts to save our people. History will judge us
harshly if we fail to do so now, and right now.

Let us not equivocate: a tragedy of unprecedented proportions is unfolding in
Africa. AIDS today in Africa is claiming more lives than the sum total of all
wars, famines and floods, and the ravages of such deadly diseases as malaria. It
is devastating fami lies and communities; overwhelming and depleting health care
services; and robbing schools of both students and teachers.

Business has suffered, or will suffer, losses of personnel, productivity and
profits; economic growth is being undermined and scarce development resources
have to be diverted to deal with the consequences of the pandemic.

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 c learly a disaster, effectively wiping out the
development gains of the past decades and sabotaging the future.

Earlier this week we were shocked to learn that within South Africa 1 in 2,
that is half, of our young people will die of AIDS. The most frightening thing
is that all of these infections which statistics tell us about, and the
attendant human suffering, co uld have been, can be, prevented.

Something must be done as a matter of the greatest urgency. And with nearly
two decades of dealing with the epidemic, we now do have some experience of what
works.

The experience in a number of countries has taught that HIV infection can be
prevented through investing in information and life skills development for young
people. Promoting abstinence, safe sex and the use of condoms and ensuring the
early treatment of sexually transmitted diseases are some of the steps needed
and about which there can be no dispute. Ensuring that people especially the
young, have access to voluntary and confidential HIV counselling and testing
services and introducing measures to reduce mother-to-child transmission have
been proven to be essential in the fight against AIDS. We have recognised the
importance of addressing the stigmatisation and discrimination, and of providing
safe and supportive environments for people affected by HIV/Ai ds.

The experiences of Uganda, Senegal and Thailand have shown that serious
investments in and mobilisation around these actions make a real difference.
Stigma and discrimination can be stopped; new infections can be prevented; and
the capacity of families and communities to care for people living with HIV and
AIDS can be enhanced.

It is not, I must add, as if the South African government has not moved
significantly on many of these areas. It was the first deputy president in my
government that oversaw and drove the initiatives in this regard, and as
President continues to place this issue on top of the national and continental
agenda. He will with me be the first to concede that much more remains to be
done. I do not doubt for one moment that he will proceed to tackle this task
with the resolve and dedication he is known for.

The challenge is to move from rhetoric to action, and action at an
unprecedented intensity and scale. There is a need for us to focus on what we
know works.

• We need to break the silence, banish stigma and discrimation, and ensure
  total inclusiveness within the struggle against AIDS;
• We need bold initiatives to prevent new infections among young people, and
  large-scale actions to prevent mother-to-child transmission, and at the same
  time we need to continue the international effort of searching for appropriate
  vaccines;
• We need to aggressively treat opportunistic infections; and
• We need to work with families and communities to care for children and
  young people to protect them from violence and abuse, and to ensure that they
  grow up in a safe and supportive environment.

For this there is need for us to be focussed, to be strategic, and to
mobilise all of our resources and alliances, and to sustain the effort until
this war is won.

We need, and there is increasing evidence of, African resolve to fight this
war. Others will not save us if we do not primarily commit ourselves. Let us,
however, not underestimate the resources required to conduct this battle.
Partnership with the interna tional community is vital. A constant theme in all
our messages has been that in this inter-dependent and globalised world, we have
indeed again become the keepers of our brother and sister. That cannot be more
graphically the case than in the common fight against HIV/Aids.

As one small contribution to the great combined effort that is required, I
have instructed my Foundation to explore in consultation with others the best
way in which we can be involved in the battle against this terrible scourge
ravaging our continent and world.

I thank all of you most sincerely for your involvement in that struggle. Let
us combine our efforts to ensure a future for our children. The challenge is no
less.

I thank you.

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