The UK has an opportunity to change this in 2005 through the hosting of the G8 and the Presidency of the EU. But Tony Blair will only act if the electorate tell him that they care about the issue. Please help us to Make AIDS History by:

• Downloading the template letter and sending it your MP. Feel free to personalise it.

• Ask your MP to write to Tony Blair and challenge him to Make AIDS History.

• Put your address and the date at the top and remember to sign it.

• You can find the name of your local MP at www.locata.co.uk/commons/ or call 020 7219 4272

(Your address)

( Date)

Dear ‘MP’s name’

I am writing to you as my elected representative to ask you to support the campaign to ‘Make AIDS History’.

The UK has the opportunity to change history by using its presidencies of the EU and the G8 to mobilise a global commitment to fighting the HIV epidemic.

Today 39.4 million people worldwide are living with HIV and over 20 million have already died(i) . The life expectancy of an infected person depends entirely on where they live. The 5% who are currently residents of developed countries already have access to Anti-Retroviral therapy (ARVs) which can significantly improve the length and quality of their lives. However in developing countries, only 8% of the many HIV infected people are able to access ARVs and in Africa, where 27 million people are infected, less than 3% of those in need have access to essential medicines. (ii)

Universal free access to ARV treatment is imperative if we want to defeat this epidemic. Charging for treatment has been proven to widen health inequalities and is the primary cause of non-adherence to medication regimes(iii) . As well as being a basic human right, treatment allows people living with HIV/AIDS to protect their health, raise their children and continue to lead productive lives.

Ensuring universal free access to ARVs is possible through the adequate funding of multilateral approaches including the Global Fund and the World Health Organisation ‘Three by Five’ initiative as well as proper investment in the development of public health systems. Britain could change the course of this epidemic by paying our fair share towards multilateral initiatives and by encouraging other world leaders to do the same.

As my elected representative, I urge you to contact Tony Blair and ask him to use the UK presidencies of the both the EU and G8 in 2005 to ‘Make AIDS History’. Specifically I would urge you to ask Tony Blair to:

1. Fund the fight - In 2005, the world will need £6.6 billion to tackle HIV/AIDS. At the current rate, only 40 percent of this sum will be available. The UK could and should afford to contribute significantly more than it is currently providing - particularly since most of the world's HIV affected people live in Commonwealth countries.
2. Ensure that the fundamental, public health principle of universal free access to treatment is central to all UK HIV/AIDS initiatives and promote this principle to other world leaders.
3. Invest in appropriate, community-based infrastructure in developing countries to ensure a rapid and effective roll out of ARV programmes.

We have the technology. We have the money. Now we just need to decide that 38 million lives are worth saving.

Yours sincerely,

(i) AIDS Epidemic Update 2004, UNAIDS
(ii) WHO World Health Report, June 2004
(iii) Lanièce, Isabelle et al. “Adherence to HAART and Its Principal Determinants in a Cohort of Senegalese Adults.” 2003 AIDS 17, supp. 3: S103–S108