7 April 2006 Jong-Wook Lee, MD, MPH Director General World Health Organization (WHO) 20, Avenue Appia CH-1211 Geneva 27 Switzerland Dear Dr Lee: We are over one hundred people living with HIV/AIDS and their advocates from over 50 countries around the world. We represent hundreds more who have not been able to sign this letter personally. We would like to take this occasion to thank you for your truly visionary leadership in launching WHO’s 3x5 campaign in 2003. Though we have all fallen short of seeing that three million people received antiretroviral treatment by the end of 2005, the 3x5 campaign was absolutely vital in speeding the pace of the expansion of AIDS treatment to the millions who need it around the world. We are gravely concerned that the new Universal Access initiative, while enshrining a noble sentiment to ensure that all those who need AIDS care, treatment and prevention services receive it by 2010, lacks the specificity of WHO¹s 3x5 campaign and is not accompanied by any clear and concrete operational goals. At the World Health Assembly in May, we urge you to publicly reaffirm your personal commitment to the spirit of the 3x5 initiative and WHO’s commitment to work with countries to ensure that 3 million people are on antiretroviral treatment as soon possible and to set out clear, ambitious, new targets for the maximum achievable number of people WHO believes can be on treatment by 2008 and by 2010. Despite the difficulties associated with the 3x5 campaign and the challenges it presented, it is now part of your legacy. It is an effort you should wholeheartedly take pride in. While so many leaders are willing to simply talk about their commitment to people living with HIV/AIDS, you are one of the few leaders who actually put the time, energy and resources of your institution behind an effort to save millions of lives despite the naysayers and the critics who tried to dissuade you from your task. Our work is not done. Thousands of people died needlessly today because they still do not have access to AIDS treatment and care. Millions more will die over the coming years if WHO and its member states do not build on and extend the 3x5 initiative beginning now in 2006. There is not a moment to lose. We need to hear your voice loudly and clearly over the voices of others trying to divert our efforts or to move us entirely away from the historic premise that the 3x5 initiative represents: none of our lives is expendable, no one deserves to die, simply because they can¹t afford the drugs and the care they need to keep them alive. Sincerely, Dario Abarca Ecuadorian Coalition of PLWHA Quito, Ecuador Solomon Adderley AIDS Foundation of The Bahamas Bahamas National Network for Positive Living(BNN+) Nassau , Bahamas Lilian Adhiambo Network of Positive Women, Children and Youth Netpowchy, Kenya AIDS Care China Guangxi Nanning City, Guangxi, People’s Republic of China Habib Ahmed PLUS Development Foundation Pakistan Habiba Akter Ashar Alo Society Dhaka, Bangladesh Tina Alexander Life Goes On Roseau, Dominica Juanita Altenberg Caribbean Vulnerable Communities Coalition Suriname Anjan Amatya National Association of PLWHA in Nepal (NAP+N) Kathmandu, Nepal Azita Amirieh Persia+ Tehran, Iran Fraçoise A.Akpédjé Dravie-Anakpan & Arsène K. Mensah Assistance-Conseil (A.C) Aného, Togo Pablo Anamaria Peruvian Coalition of People Living with HIV/AIDS Lima, Peru Jaime Argueta. Equipo Agua Buena Asociacion Nacional de Personas Positivas "Vida Nueva" ANP+VN El Salvador Khalida Bajwa Aseer Foundatin Lahore, Pakistan Olga Beliaeva Charitable Fund “Virtus” Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine Wendi Losha Bernadette Actwid Kongadzem Bamenda, Cameroon Murdo Bijl Health Connections International The Netherlands Olga Gur’evna Blinova Autonomous non-commercial organization “Center AntiAIDS” Voronezh, Russia Natalia Bobrova Department of Epidemiology and Public Health University College London London, United Kingdom Richard Brodsky Richard M. Brodsky Foundation Atlantic Beach, United States Robert Carr Caribbean Vulnerable Communities Coalition Kingston, Jamaica Edgar Carrasco Secretario Regional LACCASO Caracas, Venezuela Jorge Carreño Vivo Positivo Santiago, Chile Estela Carrizo Red de Pvvs Mar del Plata CIAT Grupo de Apoyo RedLa+ Buenos Aires, Argentina Joan Chamungu Tanzania Network of Women Living with HIV/AIDS Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania Elango Ram Chander & Jacob John National Advocacy Centre Indian Network for People living with HIV/AIDS (INP+) New Delhi, India Enrique Chavez Aid for AIDS International New York, United States Frika Chia PITA Foundation APN+ Adviser Asia Pacific Network of PLWHA Jakarta, Indonesia Susan Chong Asia Pacific Council of AIDS Service Organisations (APCASO) Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Elena Chuprina Youth movement “Penitentiary initiative” Nikolaev, Ukraine Civilian Association for AIDS Prevention and Treatment Promotion Zhecheng County, Henan Province People’s Republic of China Michaela Clayton AIDS Rights Alliance for Southern Africa Windhoek, Namibia Chris Collins New York, United States Simon Collins & Polly Clayden HIV i-Base London, United Kingdom Colorful Cloud Positive Women’s Group People’s Republic of China Delme Cupido AIDS Law Unit Legal Assistance Centre Windhoek, Namibia Kieran Daly & Mary Ann Torres International Council of AIDS Service Organisations - ICASO Toronto, Canada Colleen Daniels Health Action International Amsterdam, the Netherlands Marcus Day Caribbean Drug Abuse Research Institute Caribbean Vulnerable Communities Coalition Castries, Saint Lucia Lorena Di Giano Red Argentina de Personas Viviendo con VIH/SIDA (REDAR+) Argentina Vitaly Djuma Russian Harm Reduction Network Moscow, Russia Olive Edwards Jamaican Network of Seropositives Kingston, Jamaica Isidora Bekmuhamedovna Erasilova Republican Center for AIDS Prevention and Control Almaty, Kazakhstan Abigail Erikson & Bobby Ramakant AIDS-Care-Watch Campaign Chiang Mai, Thailand Simão Cacumba Morais Faria SCARJOV-Association for Reintegration of Youth/Children in Social Life Luanda, Angola Stuart Flavell Arlington, United States Jennifer Flynn NYC AIDS Housing Network New York, United States Alain Foguito Fogue Positive-Generation Yaounde, Cameroon Joshua T. Formentera Positive Action Foundation Philippines, Inc. Manila, Philippines Loon Gangte Delhi Network of Positive People (DNP+) New Delhi, India Ted Gaudet GNP+ North America Washington DC, United States GIPA Alliance Manipur State, India Shibu Giri The HIV Post Kathmandu, Nepal Case Gordon World Care Council Saint Denis, France Mauro Guarinieri Global Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS Amsterdam, the Netherlands Evgeny Guz & Anna Solomatova One world – one hope (Odin mir – odna nadezhda) Omsk, Russia Marina Halidova Russian Fund New Life Yekaterinburg, Russia Mark Harrington Treatment Action Group New York, United States Aruna J. Hewapathirane HEAL Project Sri Lanka Amani Hitimana Rwanda NGO forum on HIV/AIDS Kigali, Rwanda Julian V. Hows Global Network of People Living with HIV (GNP+) - Europe Amsterdam, the Netherlands Beri Hull International Community of Women living with HIV/AIDS Washington, DC, United States Julio Cesar Aguilera Hurtado Fundación REDVIHDA+ Santa Cruz, Bolivia Husa County Township PLWHA Group Bao Ping Village, Hu Sha Countyside, Long Chuan County,Yunnan Province People’s Republic of China Lindiwe Chaza Jangira Zimbabwe AIDS Network Harare, Zimbabwe Umesh Kakarania SPARSHA Kolkata, India James Kamau Kenya Treatment Access Movement-KETAM Nairobi, Kenya Bertrand Kampoer Coordinator FISS-MST/SIDA Yaoundé, Cameroon James Clovis Kayo HOPE (Humanitarian Organization for People Empowerment) Yaounde, Cameroon Jacob Kayombo VUKA Tanzania Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania Sandris Klavins AGIHAS Riga, Latvia Colette Koala l'association Espoir et Vie Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso Sergei Kolesin Club Doors Donetsk, Ukraine Ludmila Kononenko Blagodiynist Foundation Nikolaev, Ukraine Sathia Krishnamoorthy American Institute for Health Research East Taunton, United States Evgeny Kriveosheev Club Eney Kyiv, Ukraine Viacheslav Krivoruchko Nikolaev PLWHA group “Chas Zhyttia” Nikolaev, Ukraine Tapiwanashe Kujinga, Tendayi Kureya, Sostain Moyo & Believe Dhliwayo Zimbabwe Activists Against HIV & AIDS (ZAHA) Zimbabwe Aroldo E. Pinedo-Lanao REDLA+ / GNP+ Amsterdam, the Netherlands Natasha Leonchuk East European and Central Asian UNION of PLWHA Organizations Kiev, Ukraine Anna Liubinskaya and Tatsiana Seamionava Positive Movement Minsk, Belarus Gerald Lodwick Migrant Services Centre Sri Lanka Edward Low Positive Malaysian Treatment Access & Advocacy Group (MTAAG+) Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Sun Luqing The Hemophilia Home of China Shandong, People’s Republic of China Mokhothu Makhalanyane Maseru, Lesotho Maksim Malyshev NGO Istok Tver, Russia Ambroise Mamona Association Vivre plus Brazzaville, République du Congo Manipur Network of Positive People (MNP+) Manipur State, India Agne Marudinaite Coalition “I Can Live” Vilnius, Lithuania Rachel Minkoue HIRASSO (Hope Is Rising Association) Yaounde, Cameroon Aleksandrs Molokovskis Association HIV.LV Latvia Svetlana Moroz & Aleksey Moroz All-Ukrainian Network of PLWH Ukraine Sipho Mthathi Treatment Action Campaign Cape Town, South Africa Cesar Mufanequico MATRAM - Mozambican Treatment Access Movement Maputo, Mozambique Farai Mugweni Southern African Network of AIDS Service Organizations (SANASO) Harare, Zimbabwe Lydia Mungherera Uganda Treatment Access Movement & Health Rights Action Group Kampala, Uganda Robert Munk AIDS InfoNet Arroyo Seco, United States Lillian K. Mworeko East African Regional Coordinator International Community of Women living with HIV/AIDS Kampala,Uganda Jefter M. Mxotshwa NAP+ Sub Regional Office Southern Africa Office NAP+ Harare, Zimbabwe Heidi Nass AIDS Treatment Activists Coalition United States Maria Ndlovu GIPA South Africa Elena Nechosina National Charity Fund-Coalition of HIV Service NGOs Kiev, Ukraine Gina Coplon-Newfield Physicians for Human Rights Cambridge, United States Kim Nichols African Services Committee New York, United States Alessandra Nilo Gestos- Soropositividade, Comunicação e Gênero Recife, Brazil Liao Ning LGBT Network People's Republic of China Tamir Norgim Positive Life NGO for PLWHA in Mongolia Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia Felix Ntungumburanye Réseau Burundais des Personnes Vivant avec le VIH Bujumbura, Burundi Raoul Costa Nzenga COP-Ambassadeur Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo Martin Opondo Obwar Youth Empowered to Succeed (YES) Kisumu. Kenya Dasha Ocheret and Mikhail Petrov Kolodets Moscow, Russia Gustavo Adolfo Campillo Orozco Fundación Positivos por la Vida Punto Focal Redla+ Colombia Miembro Consejo Nacional de Sida Colombia Medellín, Colombia Nenet L. Ortega Remedios AIDS Foundation Manila, Philippines Sergei Panasiuk and Olga Muravian NGO Independence Lviv, Ukraine Rama.Pandian Tamilnadu Network of Positive People (TNP+) Chennai, India Sunil Babu Pant Blue Diamond Society Kathmandu, Nepal Manoj Pardesi Indian Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS India Federico Parodi Red de Pvvs Mar del Plata Buenos Aires, Argentina Ricky Pascoe Jamaican Network of Seropositives Kingston, Jamaica Noel Pascual Pinoy Plus Association Manila, Philippines Kousalya Periasamy Positive Women Network(PWN+) Chennai, India Svetlana Petrosian Fund Blagodiinist Nikolaev, Ukraine Jia Ping Shen Yang Ai Zhi Yuan Zhu Center for Health and Education People's Republic of China PLWHA Centre Huiyang District, Shangqiu City, Henan Province People's Republic of China Ismail Qaisar CRY - Coalition on Rights and Responsibilities of Youth Peshawar, Pakistan Gracia Violeta Ross Quiroga Bolivian Network of people living with HIV/AIDS (REDBOL) La Paz, Bolivia Oswaldo Rada REDLA+ Latin American Network of PLWHA Fundación Apoyo y Solidaridad Cali, Colombia John M. Rock Australia Ruili Bamboo Group Yunnan, People’s Republic of China Asia Russell Health GAP (Global Access Project) Philadelphia, United States Salomon Ruzindana Association Bethesaida Kigali, Rwanda Ousmane Sane JurisAIDS - JuriSIDA Washington, DC, United States A.Sankar Empower Tuticorin, India Zhao Sanmin Heart of Love Support Group Hui County, Henan Province People’s Republic of China Shanxi Caring Centre People’s Republic of China Shanxi Nibaqiang PLWHA Support Group People’s Republic of China Aditi Sharma ActionAid International Johannesburg, South Africa Shona Shonning Community of PLWHA in Russia Moscow, Russia Irina Skriabina & Gintare Varenka NGO Tavo Drugys Vilnius, Lithuania Richard Stern Agua Buena Human Rights Association San Jose, Costa Rica Lucia Maria Stirbu Bucharest, Romania Raminta Stuikyte Central and Eastern European Harm Reduction Network Vilnius, Lithuania Paisan Suwannawong & Karyn Kaplan Thai AIDS Treatment Action Group Bangkok, Thailand Martha Tholanah Gays and Lesbians of Zimbabwe (GALZ) Zimbabwe Joe Thomas AIDS-Asia & AIDS-India Australia Sherboto Tokombaev NGO Ranar Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan Elena Traicu National Union of Organisation with People Affected HIV/AIDS Bucharest, Romania Alejandra Trossero London, United Kingdom Charles Tshilumba RENACO+ (Egroupement Des Communautes Des PVVIH) Kinshasa, Repubique Democratique Du Congo Joost van der Meer AIDS Foundation East-West (AFEW) Amsterdam, the Netherlands Wim Vandevelde European AIDS Treatment Group Grupo Português de Activistas sobre Tratamentos de VIH/SIDA Lisbon, Portugal Maria Jose Vazquez International Community of Women living with HIV/AIDS London, United Kingdom Konstantin Verhov Vera, Nadezhda, Liubov (Faith, Hope, Love) Odessa, Ukraine Francisco Vidal Punto Focal RedLa+ Santiago, Chile Leonid Vlassenko Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine Aleksei Vlasov & Mikhail Kolesnikov Open Space Odessa, Ukraine Oleg Voinorenko & Sergei Shapovalov NGO Probuzhdenie Kherson, Ukraine Aleksandr Volgin, Aleksandr Rumiantsev, Masha Ovseniakova & Evgeny Shookov FrontAIDS Moscow and Saint Petersburg, Russia Malanda Wilondja Love in Action Bukavu, Democratic Republic of Congo Zonibel Woods International Women's Health Coalition New York, United States Cheng Xiangyang Present of Life Support Group Shang Cai County, Henan Province People’s Republic of China Zhou Yunjun & Shen Jun Suzhou Enjoy Sunshine Together Support Group People’s Republic of China Lucie Zambou RéCAP+ Yaounde, Cameroon Vladimir Zhovtyak All Ukraine PLWH Network Kiev, Ukraine