Lawmakers belonging to the International Parliamentary Union (IPU), including Senate President Manuel Villar Jr., vowed that the legislative bodies of 147 countries will become more involved in the fight against HIV/AIDS.
In his keynote address at the opening ceremonies of the First Global Parliamentary Meeting on HIV/AIDS at Manila Hotel yesterday, Villar called on the world’s parliamentarians to get their acts together and help address the spread of HIV/AIDS, which he described as a global threat.
“As members of parliament, we are in a unique position because we can make important legislative decisions that have powerful effects on the lives of people,” Villar said.
IPU Secretary General Anders Johnsson and Michel Sidibe, deputy executive director of the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), agreed with Villar about the necessity of deeply involving legislators in containing the spread of HIV/AIDS.
Johnsson said the IPU members should make concrete recommendation to governments to ensure that all victims of the deadly virus will have complete access to drugs and medication. He added that IPU delegates are looking into the possibility of enjoining member countries to craft legislation that would criminalize the “infection” of HIV/AIDS virus. They expect to come up with the position by the end of the three-day conference on Friday.
Both Johnsson and Sidibe admitted that lawmakers should work closely on how to help HIV/AIDS patients have access to proper treatment by 2010.
“We are also confronted with the challenges of long-held biases, prejudices, and social barriers that impede efforts to prevent the spread of the disease. As lawmakers, we can craft laws aimed at tearing down the social barriers that accompany the trial of living with HIV/AIDS,” Villar said.