MSF response on the occasion of MDG Special Event in New York

Statement from Doctors Without Borders/ Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) on the occasion of the Special Event regarding the post-2015 Millennium Development Goal agenda (New York, 25 September 2013) “A lot of progress has been made over the last decade in tackling the three pandemic killers, but there is so much left to be done and now is not the time to take the foot off the gas pedal. We need to see governments committing to ambitious measurable targets to forge ahead with HIV treatment now that we know that treatment both saves lives and stops the virus from spreading – every day, more people need to be put on treatment than the day before. The drug-resistant tuberculosis epidemic is spiralling out of control, and can no longer be swept under the carpet – the first step is admitting that DR-TB represents a true public health emergency. We must see more commitment from governments to uncover the true scale of the drug-resistant TB problem by effectively testing for it and then offering everyone who tests positive the treatment they need to stay alive. Governments cannot collectively let themselves off the hook—we need to see measurable goals that will add credibility and accountability to otherwise good intentions.”   Sharonann Lynch, HIV & TB Policy Advisor, MSF Access Campaign