The news reports out of the 14th International AIDS Conference in Barcelona, Spain this July did not do justice to the scope of the global HIV/AIDS crisis. In remarks at the closing ceremonies, former South African President and International AIDS Trust co-chair Nelson Mandela called AIDS the worst epidemic in history, a "war against humanity." According to a report issued by UNAIDS, there could be 68 million new AIDS deaths by the year 2020, with no end in sight.

The stigma of HIV/AIDS still remains a huge hurdle to cross. While the number of new cases in the United States has leveled off to about 40,000 a year in the last decade, there continues to be a dramatic increase in the numbers of young, gay, and bisexual men of color becoming infected. In many urban areas we have as many as one-third of all young gay men of color infected with HIV, which parallels what we see in many African nations.

But perhaps the greatest untold story is how this pandemic is disproportionately affecting women and children, both in the United States and internationally. According to the World Health Organization, of the 33.6 million people living with HIV/AIDS worldwide, 14.8 million are women; they account for 55% of adult infections in sub-Saharan Africa, 30% in Southeast Asia, and 20% in Europe and the United States. And in many regions, young girls are six times more likely than boys their same age to become infected by HIV. This is clearly a gender issue, and if we're going to really fight AIDS, we're going to have to address these issues of gender and equity.

The International AIDS Trust was established as a single-focused non-governmental organization (NGO) to create strategic opportunities for galvanizing leadership, mobilizing resources, and promoting effective interventions in the global battle against AIDS, Partnered with UNAIDS and the organization's executive director Peter Piot, the trust sponsored "Women United Against AIDS," an unprecedented session attended by scores of the world's women leaders. There was a frank discussion to identify strategies and challenges that specifically impact the fight against AIDS faced by women in virtually every culture worldwide, including limits on reproductive rights, societal standards restricting information about sexuality, and reluctance by male-dominated leadership to empower and include women. As Princess Rattana-Devi Norodom of Cambodia said, "It's time to put AIDS on the global women's health agenda, especially with the impact it is having among younger women."

We teamed up again with UNAIDS to sponsor an historic town hall meeting with world leaders conducted by our co-chair, former President Bill Clinton. The emphasis was on leadership, on how to keep AIDS at the top of the agenda, and on how to develop the strategies needed to turn commitment into measurable progress in achieving global goals. We need champions at all levels of society. In many ways, great leaders are not defined by the positions they hold but by the spirit and skill they bring to those opportunities. But we cannot have real movement against this pandemic without someone at the top making it a national priority. As former President Clinton noted, "In countries that have achieved real results, the head of state has made it a priority to educate the public about AIDS and to create a framework for a partnership between government, non-governmental organizations, affected communities, and donors."

The International AIDS Trust is committed to that endeavor. AIDS is a public health crisis, a development crisis, an economic and trade crisis, and a security and stability crisis with far reaching ramifications for us all. As President Clinton

said during the Barcelona closing ceremonies, "the AIDS epidemic is a threat to international peace and economic stabilityÉOne hundred million AIDS cases means more terror, more mercenaries, more war [and] destruction, and the failure of fragile democracies." Last year UNAIDS estimated that poorer counties needed about $10 billion annually to fight the disease, and President Clinton urged wealthy nations to "figure out" their share. He called on the United States to contribute nearly $2 billion to the effort.

The international war against HIV/AIDS, co-chair former President Nelson Mandela pointed out, requires the "mobilization of entire populations." Antiretroviral drugs must be made available "for all those that need it, wherever they may be in the world, regardless of whether they can afford it."

We are at a critical juncture in the global fight against AIDS. The good news is that we know what works. We now have blueprints for action with identified goals and benchmarks for charting our progress. We also have hope and opportunity. What we need now is the collective will and the resources to put our vision into action. As Gandhi said, "We must become the change we want to see."

The International AIDS Trust can help seize the moment. We are committed to increasing public education about the disease, assisting in the development and implementation of effective programs and policies, and sparking new leadership, partnership, and investment in new strategic alliances between the public and private sectors. Working together, our capacity to help turn the tide in the global battle against HIV/AIDS is boundless.

For more information, visit our web site at: <www.internationalaidstrust.org.>