The first summit meeting of national leaders on HIV/Aids in Bangkok next week has been called off because only one of the invited leaders is showing up.
Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra announced in May that he would join the leaders of Brazil, China, India, Nigeria, Russia and Uganda and United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan for the summit on the sidelines of the world’s largest Aids conference that starts in Bangkok this Sunday.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Sihasak Phuangketkeow said only Ugandan President Lieutenant General Yoweri Museveni and Annan are now coming. Instead of a summit, they will meet some Aids victims on the opening day of the conference.
”The other leaders were not comfortable with travelling here at this time,” said the spokesperson.
Nimit Thien-udom, secretary general of Thailand’s Aids Access Foundation — which works with people living with HIV/Aids — said the meeting would have been a good opportunity to highlight the need for treatment for people living with HIV/Aids.
”It is a pity. The leaders’ meeting might have helped us to solve the Aids problem more quickly,” he said.
Organisers expect up to 20 000 delegates for the 15th International Aids Conference from July 11 to 16, which has the theme of Access for All.
The $15-million conference brings together politicians, activists, scientists and people living with HIV/Aids. — Sapa-AFP