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Civil Society Initiatives and Recommendations in the Fight against Infectious Diseases for the G8 Summit
February 16, 2006, Moscow

• Summary on energy security
• Summary on education
• Summary on infectious diseases
• Prophylaxis of infectious diseases and providing medical assistance to the socially undefended

This document is an attempt to summarize the results of the experts' discussion (held at the Extropolis Conference Center in Moscow on February 16, 2006) on the issues to which, as civil society believes, the attention of the leaders of the G8 nations should be attracted and focused so that they would take additional steps and measures aimed to reduce the threat that infectious diseases pose to mankind development.

Being an interim draft intended for further discussion and elaboration by experts, this document is formatted as a coordination table in the Russian and English languages.

It is assumed that any comments, proposals, amendments, and the draft revised so as to incorporate them will be discussed at an extended Experts' Round Table to be held in early March, the exact place and date of which will be announced later.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Preamble

In a situation of the global rapid acceleration of mankind development and new civilizational challenges, among the problems and issues coming into focus, infectious diseases are particularly important, representing not a decreasing, but rather an increasing threat to the entire population of the planet, to all nations, because they do not know any state borders and are not dependent on the peculiarities and differences in the organization of national healthcare systems.

However, infectious diseases and effectiveness in the fight against them are dependent on the amount of funds invested in scientific research, preventive measures and treatment, on the coordination of actions taken by the nations, and on the affordability of medical aid and infection prevention means available to all groups of people.

Especially severe is the shortage of funds appropriated for and the outstanding issues in the organization of preventive treatment and the scope of medical aid available to those groups of people that find the increasingly high-technology and increasingly expensive healthcare less affordable or completely unaffordable.

These categories of people, the number of which varies from nation to nation, but still is rather high to come into focus for society, include: (a) prisoners and people reintegrating into society after serving their sentences; (b) marginalized groups (the poor and beggars), forced migrants and resettlers, refugees, people who have lost their homes and who do not have sufficient income to subsist as a result of conflicts, natural calamities or catastrophes; (c) lonely and disabled people; (d) homeless, neglected and abused children; (e) people with alcohol or drug dependence.

The objective of the global community is to provide these categories of people with affordable preventive and medical aid against such widespread infectious diseases as tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS, STI's (sexually transmitted infections), hepatitis C, and new infections, specifically viral infection H5N1 ("bird flu," "avian flu").
The attention of the leaders of the G8 nations should be attracted to the need to fulfill the previous commitments in the area of healthcare and to judge on the merits of the new initiatives proposed by the institutes of civil society as set forth in this Message.

Item 1

The funds and other resources appropriated by the G8 nations to provide for the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases, to conduct scientific research in this area, and to render assistance to less economically developed nations are insufficient and need to be increased, especially as regards the development of the means to prevent and treat HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, viral infection H5N1 ("bird flu," "avian flu"), and sexually transmitted infections. It is necessary not only to ensure that the G8 nations fulfill their previous commitments in the area of healthcare, but also to consider a possibility of taking additional measures in view of the fact that the old challenges and problems have intensified while some new ones have emerged.

Item 2

The G8 nations should take necessary steps to ensure that the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases are affordable for all categories of people, especially for the marginalized groups (refugees and forced migrants, the poor and beggars, homeless, neglected and uncared-for children, prisoners and people reintegrating into society after serving their sentences at prisons, lonely women, handicapped people and disabled elderly people, and people with alcohol and drug dependence).

There are prospects at the state level for instituting nationwide programs intended to set up centers for social, psychological and medical aid to and rehabilitation of people released from prisons, and to create specialized stations at the places of natural gathering and habitation of beggars, refugees and migrants, people with alcohol and drug dependence, and especially homeless, neglected and uncared-for children (at bus and railroad stations), engaging volunteers and students to work there.

Item 3

It is necessary to ensure an increase in the funds to accelerate the development and manufacturing of preventive and treatment preparations to fight against HIV/AIDS, hepatitis C, tuberculosis, sexually transmitted infections (contraceptives for women, microbiocides, vaccine to prevent antibioticresistant tuberculosis strains, HIV/AIDS, viral infection H5N1, hepatitis C, etc.).

It is also necessary to consider matters related to providing assistance to the nations that cannot fully provide for preventive and treatment measures in the fight against infectious diseases posing a threat to all mankind.

Item 4

The G8 nations should take all necessary steps to set up a global system of monitoring infectious diseases and to supply the necessary funds and informational resources to operate this system, ensuring its openness to be controlled by the institutes of civil society.

Item 5

We call on the G8 nations to have the will and ability to ensure that national legislation is amended so as to eliminate any obstacles to providing affordable prevention and quality medical treatment of infectious diseases to all categories of people, especially high-exposure groups, and stateless persons that are temporarily staying in the territory of these nations (refugees, forced migrants, etc.).


Any proposals to improve the above Recommendations to the leaders of the G8 nations should be written on a separate sheet and should be sent to the Facilitator and Moderator of the Healthcare Round Table of the "G8 Civil" Forum, Professor Georgy A. Komarov at komarov@pike.net.ru or to Ella Pamfilova Pamfilova_EA@gov.ru

Source: Civil G8