He added: "To all in the audience living with and affected by HIV/AIDS, I say welcome." The former head of state, who has retained the chairmanship of NACA, the local AIDS coordinating agency, said: "Together, on the eve of this great global conference, let us take a moment to look back and to see how far we have come. From fear and ignorance of this frightening new illness, that sickened and took our friends and relatives, consider the knowledge and tools that 25 years of painstaking research have put in our hands. Three million people on antiretroviral therapy worldwide is not just the greatest public health achievement of the new century, it is a tribute to all of you who have fought so hard to understand HIV and to make available the drugs that are saving these lives. I salute the activists, researchers and doctors who together have made history. I want to salute and acknowledge the leading role of pharmaceutical companies of the world who are often maligned.
"Ladies and gentlemen, over one million of those people who started therapy for the first time last year, did so in the continent of Africa. In Africa where, just a few years ago, it seemed impossible to consider giving antiretroviral (ARVs) therapy. "The drugs are too expensive, there was fear that the patients would not understand the complex regimens, that there would be an epidemic of resistant HIV... And yet country after country has proven the nay-sayers wrong and delivered this service to its people. Today, in my country Botswana alone, almost 100,000 people are receiving antiretroviral therapy - almost 95% percent of those in need. I salute the leaders and the policy makers who have committed themselves to bringing AIDS therapy to Africa. I salute our international partners and the dedicated individuals who have brought assistance and resources from so many countries.
