Put power in the hands of women, AIDS conference told

A revolution in the fight against AIDS is at hand, philanthropists Bill and Melinda Gates said during the keynote speech at the 16th International AIDS Conference opening ceremony in Toronto.

Bill Gates urged scientists to accelerate research on drugs that prevent the acquisition of HIV by women.

"We could revolutionize the fight against AIDS," he said.

Gates said that women have largely had to depend on their partners to agree to abstinence or condom use. Neither has proven effective, he said, and that is why the research on microbicides and oral prevention drugs are so important.

"A woman should never need her partner's permission to save her life," he said.

Melinda Gates earlier echoed her husband's comments at a news conference, saying that microbicides will be an effective way of quelling the growth of HIV and AIDS.

"You have to put the power in the hands of women — that is going to be the way to change this epidemic," she said.

During the keynote speech, Melinda Gates spoke about new research trials that could change the course of the pandemic.

A total of 16 microbicides —a gel or cream used to block infection —are currently being evaluated. Of those, five are in major advanced studies, she said. Drug trials into oral prevention drugs are also underway.

Melinda Gates further encouraged researchers and politicians alike to move past the stigma of HIV/AIDS.

"Stigma is so cruel," she said. "It's also irrational. Stigma makes it easier for political leaders to stand in the way of saving lives."

The couple last week announced that their foundation would contribute $500 million over five years to fight HIV-AIDS.

About 20,000 participants — including scientists, health-care providers, political leaders, government and non-governmental officials, media and people living with HIV-AIDS — are expected to attend the conference, which runs until Aug. 18.

Bill Gates and Bill Clinton, the former U.S. president,are scheduled to present their prioritiesfor ending the epidemic on Monday.

Harper under fire

Earlier in the evening, the Canadian co-chairman conference criticized Prime Minister Stephen Harper for declining an invitation to open the event.

"We are dismayed that the prime minister of Canada, Mr. Stephen Harper, is not here this evening," said Dr. Mark Wainberg at the Rogers Centre.

"Mr. Harper, the role of prime minister includes the responsibility to show leadership on the world stage. Your absence sends a message that you do not regard HIV/AIDS as a critical priority and clearly all of us here tonight disagree with you," he said, prompting a standing ovation from the crowd.

People crowded the front of the stage, carrying signs that read "Sleep in Steve? HIV Never Sleeps!"

Governor General opens conference

Politicians, activists, and artists attended the ceremony, with Gov. Gen. Michaëlle Jean officially opening the conference.

The prime minister, who is on a trip to the North, has said that he could not attend the conference because of previous commitments.

Health Minister Tony Clement attended the conference on the government's behalf. Earlier Sunday, he told CBC the government had sent adequate representation.

Clement said he was committed to helping people around the world through an access-to-medicine program.

"We don't need more rhetoric and more people saying 'Do this one thing and everything will be fine.' We actually need results," he said.

The conference began Sunday morning with a march through the streets that included blues singer Alicia Keys, Stephen Lewis, the UN secretary general's special envoy on AIDS in Africa, and 100 grandmothers from 13 African countries, who were all forced to raise their grandchildren after their children died of AIDS.

Helping the orphans

The women, who have been at the forefront of many projects to help the estimated 13 million AIDS orphans in sub-Saharan Africa, sang as they strode toward the CBC Broadcast Centre and then gathered in the building's atrium to sing We Shall Overcome.

Lewis, a Canadian AIDS activist and former leader of Ontario's New Democratic Party, urged industrialized countries to deliver the millions in funding and aid that they have pledged to help combat HIV-AIDS.

"What the Western world has to do is deliver on its promises, which it never does. It always betrays the people of Africa," Lewis told CBC News.

"It's very important to raise your voice up and talk," Keys, a Grammy Award-winning singer, told CBC Television.

Ignorant of infection

There are an estimated 58,000 people infected with HIV-AIDS in Canada alone. Of those, the Public Health Agency of Canada has estimated that 15,000 — or just over 25 per cent — did not know they were infected.

This is the third time the conference has been held in Canada. It was held in Montreal in 1989 and in Vancouver in 1996.

In 1989, Prime Minister Brian Mulroney attended the Quebec event, but Prime Minister Jean Chrétien did not go to Vancouver seven years later.