Only the hopelessly optimistic would have imagined that the world summit on sustainable development, just ended in Johannesburg, would have adequately managed to tackle the health issues that crept into the meetings and on to the agenda.
Among the issues that were continually struggling to find a more prominent place on the agenda was HIV/AIDS, but according to Dr Peter Piot, head of the joint UN programme on AIDS (UNAIDS), people simply forgot about it.
He had been answering questions, at a breakfast briefing during the summit, aimed at ascertaining whether there was some conspiracy in the absence of AIDS as a major issue—or whether other factors could be blamed. The pandemic is widely recognised as the one factor likely to impede or even halt any form of development, let alone sustainable development.
Dr Piot noted that, left to run its course, the pandemic will kill all those who may have been speaking about development. UNAIDS, however, seems to find it frustrating to keep the issue moving adequately. It was barely on the summit's agenda and has effectively been a sideshow.
It has become clear, however, that activists are not alone in their impatience about action to stem the pandemic. Companies, many of them represented at the business satellite conference of the world summit, have decided they cannot wait for governments (notably, the South African government) to treat their workers. Many are providing drug treatment for their staff or have announced that they intend to.
An important gain, however, for those concerned with the spread of infectious diseases in the developing world was the agreement on deadlines for the provision of sanitation for the 4.2 billion people without it. At least half should have sanitation by 2015 if the agreement is honoured. Partnerships have been launched to deal with safe drinking water, and there is a commitment to phase out the use of chemicals that are harmful to people in the developing world.
To this end, Dr Gro Harlem Brundtland, director general of the World Health Organization, has initiated a movement to improve children's health, particularly those vulnerable to environmental hazards.
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AP PHOTO/SAURABH DAS
A delegate stands among a Friends of the Earth display of some 6000 statues made by deprived communities in South Africa to represent their struggle