Madam President, the Programme for Action against HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis dates back to 2001 and has now been in force for two years. The situation has not become any less harrowing. The three diseases combined are responsible for more than 20 000 deaths daily. Over the past year alone, according to the WHO, approximately 40 000 people were infected with HIV/AIDS every day, and based on the latest information, 16 million children under the age of 15 have now lost one or both of their parents to the disease. Tuberculosis is one of the world's major infectious diseases. One third of the world population is infected, and it is expected that 5 to 10% of them will actually become ill. Malaria is pushing ahead fast; in Africa alone, some one million people die of it every year, most of them pregnant women and young children. The seriousness of the situation cannot be pressed home enough. The death rate as a result of this disease is still increasing and this is set to be the case for some time. Let it be clear that the least developed countries are hit hardest, and that is why these diseases are termed diseases of poverty. They hamper social and economic development, completely disrupting the societies of many developing countries. Fatalities hit large sections of the working population, and companies and organisations have to do without workers. In many countries, the loss of teachers means that the educational system can no longer function, and as already stated, the number of orphans is growing dramatically. What kind of a future do they have? A whole generation is at risk of being lost. The diseases are making demands on health care systems over and above the ability of these to handle them. The Programme for Action can be considered a sound programme but can be improved on a number of scores. After all, the evaluation of the European development policy shows that the current programmes have too little impact. The European Union has set itself millennium objectives. One of the points is to stop the steady increase in the spreading of AIDS in 2015, but we are still not doing enough to achieve these goals. I would therefore urge you to set aside more money for this programme and to intensify the research into the causes and reduction of diseases. As is known, the biggest problem with malaria is that due to increasing resistance, new medicines have to be developed all the time. I think that the report gives a clear indication of Parliament's commitment where, as has already been mentioned, the importance of the availability and accessibility of basic health care, of medicines, of prevention, of the possible role of civil society of research and monitoring is concerned. I should like to highlight one point that deserves specific attention, namely the special position of women. These diseases hit women first, and hit them hardest. In the 15-24 age group, there are nearly twice as many women victims compared to men. Worse access to education and health care, a biologically greater risk of infection and a difficult social position all contribute to this. This population group therefore deserves specific attention and policies, especially as health care projects, among others, appear to be more successful if women are involved. Investing in girls appears to lead to lower mortality rates among women and children, offers higher food safety and benefits the fight against poverty. This was once more evident from the research published by Unicef on 11 December last. In fact, the report states that without, for example, campaigns to get more girls into schools, it will be impossible to achieve the millennium objectives. Moreover, it transpires that when more girls attend school, this does not only benefit the girls, but also the boys and the countries. Finally, I should like to thank and congratulate the rapporteur, who is an expert in this field and has once again produced an excellent report. There is still a great deal to be done by the European Union and the individual Member States.

Political group: PPE-DE