エイズ感染 取り組みの遅れ目立つ日本、政府主導で流行阻止を (読売 2005/07/08)

［解説］エイズ感染　取り組みの遅れ目立つ日本、政府主導で流行阻止を (読売 2005/07/08)

　　
　神戸市で５日まで開かれていた第７回アジア・太平洋地域エイズ国際会議は、エイズに対する政府の危機意識の低さを国内外に印象づけた。（科学部　宮崎敦）

　日本でエイズに関する国際会議が開かれるのは、１９９４年に横浜市で行われた国際エイズ会議以来で、今回のアジア・太平洋地域会議には、７０以上の国からエイズ研究者や感染者、支援者ら約２７００人が参加した。

　この地域のエイズウイルス感染者は、昨年末で８００万人を超え、インドや中国などで急増している。日本も、昨年新たに報告された感染者と患者は１１６５人で、８５年の集計開始以来、初めて年間１０００人を超えた。

　エイズ対策は今や、政治的なリーダーシップによる流行阻止と感染者の差別解消、感染者らを支援する民間活動団体の協調が不可欠と考えられている。小泉首相は６月末、途上国に対するエイズ治療薬配布の推進役となる「世界エイズ・結核・マラリア対策基金」に５億ドルの緊急支援を表明しており、今回の会議では、政府がどのような姿勢を示すかにも期待が集まった。

　しかし、参加者からは「日本の政府関係者が議論に参加していない」（アジア感染者ネット代表、グレッグ・グレイさん）といった批判が噴出した。郵政民営化関連法案の国会審議と重なったこともあり、厚労相らが出席しなかったからだ。

　国連合同エイズ計画（ＵＮＡＩＤＳ）アジア太平洋地域事務所のプラサダ・ラオ所長は「日本の資金援助は素晴らしいが、なぜその先見の明を自国のエイズ対策に向けないのか」と疑問を投げかけた。

　また、海外の感染者が積極的に発言したのと対照的に、日本の感染者は差別を恐れてか、多くの議論に参加できない状況は、横浜会議から一歩も前進していない。

　感染者を支える非営利組織（ＮＰＯ）「ぷれいす東京」代表の池上千寿子さんは「日本政府と感染者・支援者らとの間のギャップは、横浜会議当時より大きい」とみる。日本でエイズといえば、薬害が大きな注目を集めていた。しかし、エイズのもう一つの側面である性感染については、対策が十分に進まないまま国や自治体のエイズ対策関連予算が削減されている。

　タイでも売春は違法だが、タイ政府は、性風俗店で働く女性に対し「１００％コンドーム装着」を求め、新規感染者を減らした。違法行為に手を貸したという批判もあったが、エイズ対策は、そこまでやらなければ効果がないことが、アジア各国の経験で実証されている。

　だが、日本のエイズ対策は、青少年や一般市民へのエイズ教育、コンドームの啓発、検査受診の呼びかけなど、広く薄い施策にとどまっている。

　ＵＮＡＩＤＳは会期中、「日本人のエイズに関する知識不足や感染者が差別されやすい状況から考え、急速な流行は十分に起きうる」と、日本を名指しで警告した。

　神戸会議では、民間活動団体「ジョイセフ」（家族計画国際協力財団）が発表したエイズ予防啓発の紙芝居が、電気の通じない地域に住む子どもたちの興味を引く格好の教材として、各国から、購入の問い合わせが相次ぐなど、日本の支援団体の活動が評価され、草の根レベルの交流が進んだ。

　草の根の活動を生かしながら、国内の流行阻止に向けて政治がリーダーシップを発揮する時期を迎えている。日本のエイズ対策に課せられた大きな宿題といえる。

Culture
Govt apathy stuns AIDS confab
Atsushi Miyazaki / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer

Attendees at the Seventh International Congress on AIDS in Asia and the Pacific were left with the distinct impression the Japanese government lacked awareness of the threat of HIV/AIDS.

The conference, which was held in Kobe and ended Tuesday, attracted about 2,700 participants from more than 70 countries, including AIDS researchers, those living with HIV/AIDS and those who support them. It was the first international AIDS meet in Japan since a meeting in Yokohama in 1994.

In late 2004, the number of people in Asia who had contracted the AIDS virus surpassed 8 million, with a dramatic rise in cases seen in both China and India.

Japan reported 1,165 new cases last year. It was the first time since the government began keeping such records in 1985 that the number of new infections had been higher than 1,000.

Many people now think cooperation is indispensible among political leaders working to stop the spread of the infection and discrimination against those who have contracted the disease and community-based organizations that support those living with HIV/AIDS.

Interest grew in what the government's stance would be at the congress after Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi announced an emergency 500 million dollars aid package late last month for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.

But in the end, the government drew criticism from congress participants, such as Greg Gray, regional coordinator of the Asia Pacific Network for People living with HIV/AIDS, who complained that Japanese government officials had not joined the discussion.

The complaint seemed to stem from the fact that the government appeared to be focused entirely on the postal privatization bills and because the health minister and other top officials chose not to attend the conference.

Japan's financial assistance in the fight against AIDS is wonderful, Prasada Rao, regional director of the Asia-Pacific support team for the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), said, adding that the organization was baffled why the government did not apply this vision to its own AIDS policy.

Compared with many of their overseas counterparts, people with HIV/AIDS in Japan are more fearful of falling victim to prejudice and are unable to join in many debates on the subject, leaving them no better off than they were at the Yokohama conference.

Chizuko Ikegami of Place Tokyo, a nonprofit organization that supports HIV-positive patients, said, "The gap between the Japanese government and the HIV/AIDS infected and their supporters is even bigger than it was at Yokohama."

In Japan, a lot of attention has been given to AIDS patients who became infected through contaminated blood products. Yet the government's policy on educating the public and juveniles about the sexual transmission of the virus is lagging, while local governments are cutting funding for AIDS-related measures.

Thailand, like Japan, has outlawed prostitution. But its government has been successful in reducing the number of new infections in the industry by demanding that women working in the sex industry use condoms every time they have sex. While there are those who complain the Thai government is lending a hand to lawbreakers, every country in the region has experiences that show if they do not bend the rules, their AIDS measures will have no effect.

Japan's measures and policies for educating children and the general public on the virus, encouraging AIDS tests and education on condom use are too few and far between.

During the meeting, UNAIDS admonished Japan, saying the country's people were insufficiently educated about the infection, and that HIV/AIDS patients were easily discriminated against. It added that this could quite conceivably lead to a rapid outbreak of the virus.

The Japanese Organization for International Cooperation in Family Planning unveiled a set of picture cards at the congress designed to educate children in areas with no electricity about HIV/AIDS. The cards drew a flood of inquiries from interested buyers and brought Japan's community-based organizations high praise, showing that an exchange of ideas was taking place at the grassroots level.

But the day will come when the government must display leadership in stopping the spread of the disease at home. Japan clearly has its work cut out for itself.

(Jul. 9, 2005)