by Nigel Marsh - Hope Communications

BARCELONA, FRIDAY - The new chairman of the International AIDS Society, Amsterdam University lecturer Joep Lange, introduced himself during the conclusion of the Fourteenth International AIDS Conference with a soft-spoken but strongly worded appeal for action to combat HIV.

"It's easy to get drugs and anti-retrovirals to the developing world," he said in a message to challenge drug manufacturers and African governments alike. "People make simple things sound complex to condone their inertia.

"There are 20,000 to 30,000 people on treatment in Africa. Six million people in Africa need treatment. It hurts, and the slow pace at which the world responds hurts as well. Complexity is used to condone the inertia of those who are living off this pandemic."

He called for something like a military operation to confront the viral enemy, with inventories of the people in countries in need, and lists of the agencies available to help.

"We should be creative. You don't need doctors and nurses to provide this kind of help. Scaling up the work done by health care workers and volunteers is more important. We can provide anti-retrovirals with the same sort of DOTS approach that we use for TB.

"If we can get cold Coca Cola and water to every individual on earth, it should not be impossible to get anti-retrovirals to them to save their lives."

He challenged the dogma about the possible harm wrong application of drugs could cause in some cases, saying this would only be a minor consequence in comparison with the good to be done: "Why are we always more concerned about doing harm than about not doing good?"

He called for more political will to act: "Of all the ills that kill people with HIV, none is as lethal as bad government. All these concerns are about keeping up appearances. I am much more concerned about milions of people who are dying and the millions of deaths we could prevent if we got our act together."

He protested the international governments' failure to provide the $7-10 billion Global Fund for AIDS, TB and Malaria, noting media reports that the England vs Argentina World Cup football match had cost the British economy $2 billion in lost working hours as people stayed home to watch the match. "If we can spend that sort of money on football, can't we spend it on ending AIDS?"