Nelson Mandela on Treatment Access

     "The world must do more, much more on every front in the fight against AIDS. Of course, it means dramatically expanding our prevention efforts, but the most striking inequity is our failure to provide the lifesaving treatment to the millions of people who need it most. The single most important step we must now take is to provide access to treatment throughout the developing world. There is no excuse for delay. We must start now. If we discard the people who are dying from AIDS, then we can no longer call ourselves decent people."

      Nelson Mandela, July 15, 2003, at the International AIDS Society conference in Paris -- quoted by Stephen Lewis, United Nations Special Envoy on HIV/AIDS in Africa, speaking in Durban, South Africa, August 3.