XVII International AIDS Conference- The Mexico City Manifesto

At the 2008 International AIDS Conference in Mexico City, Mexico, AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) unveiled its bold “Mexico City Manifesto,” a declaration urging world leaders to take far more urgent action in the global fight against HIV and AIDS. The document was issued in response to alarming statistics—2.1 million people had died of AIDS-related illnesses in 2007 alone—and called for immediate, universal access to lifesaving HIV treatment for all who need it, regardless of geography or economic status.

Activists rally in front of the Monument to the Revolution in Mexico City during the 2008 International AIDS Conference, holding banners and signs demanding universal access to HIV treatment, testing, and prevention.

To amplify the message and rally global attention, AHF organized a large-scale march, “Universal AIDS Action Now,” which brought together advocates, people living with HIV, public health leaders, and community members from around the world to demand political commitment, increased funding, and accelerated efforts to end the epidemic.

Marchers display a handmade sign in Spanish during the 2008 International AIDS Conference protest, calling for urgent government action to address drug shortages and ensure universal HIV care in Mexico.

The “Mexico City Manifesto” called for the following:

  1. Universal access to antiretroviral treatment — 10 million on treatment by 2013
  2. Universal access to rapid, routine HIV screening — one billion tests per year
  3. Universal access to safer sex and family planning information, free condoms, and clean needles for the prevention of HIV and other STDs
  4. An intensified international effort to combat and overcome stigma and discrimination of people living with HIV/AIDS, including homophobia, inequities and harsh treatment of women and children, xenophobia, and barriers to health systems
  5. The immediate lowering of drug prices, increased generic competition, and universal drug registrations

Photo of the number of marchers that showed up at the rally.

Dr. Patricia Campos, AHF’s Bureau Chief of Latin America and the Caribbean and one of the primary organizers of the march, stated, “We call on our Secretary of Health to declare a national state of emergency for HIV/AIDS in Mexico in order that drug treatments—including generic drugs, which are usually much less expensive—can become far more available throughout Mexico and that more people in need can access lifesaving AIDS care and antiretroviral treatment.”

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