12 Feb 2009 | Albina du Boisrouvray Speech at the Launch of the JLICA Report in London

The global response to HIV and AIDS must be significantly reoriented to address the unmet needs of millions of children and their families in the worst affected countries, according to a new report by the independent Joint Learning Initiative on Children and HIV/AIDS (JLICA).

The report, “Home Truths: Facing the Facts on Children, AIDS, and Poverty” summarises two years of research and analysis of AIDS- related policies, programmes and funding and their effectiveness in addressing the needs of children. It calls for change in global, regional and national responses to the epidemic, including greater emphasis on strengthening families and communities to enable them to give children the care and support they are uniquely suited to provide.

The report also recommends new approaches to address the simultaneous impacts of HIV, poverty, food insecurity and social inequality that many countries confront today. “JLICA has focused on children, but the release of this report is an opportunity to refocus and greatly strengthen the entire AIDS response,” noted Jim Yong Kim, Director of the FXB Center for Health and Human Rights at Harvard University and Co-Chair of the JLICA Learning Group on Expanding Access to Services and Protecting Human Rights.

Albina du Boisrouvray, President and Founder of FXB International – one of the founding members of JLICA – welcomes the conclusions and recommantations of the report : “In important ways, this research confirms what people in affected communities themselves, and many of you working in the field, have long known. For example, that an approach centered on the family is the most effective way to secure children’s wellbeing. And that we see best results when services are integrated to improve and nurture the many facets of a child’s wellbeing simultaneously: connecting health, nutrition, education, and family economic strengthening. FXB International has pioneered and advocated for such ideas for 20 years. A number of your organizations have done this as well, but many leading actors remained unconvinced. So, it’s time also to thank again and again the late Dr. Jonathan Mann. His conceptualization of "Inextricable link between health and human rights" taught us  that when people's basic Rights are violated, public health policies are not sustainable and do not have a impact. The success of FXB International in helping millions of destitute people over the last twenty years from hopeless poverty to dignified self-sufficiency owes to Jonathan’s teaching put into action.”

Click here to read Albina's entire speech.