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Samrawit Yitayew Biyazin: Thank you very much.
My name is Samrawit, from Ethiopia.
I'm representing youth with disabilities here.
My question is, do you think that persons with disabilities
should be considered a most-at-risk group
by international AIDS community?
Do you think they need to be considered as a
group at risk by international community?
If you don't, why not? Thank you very much.
Luiz Loures: Yolanda, would you like to take on the first question please?
On the question that the lady asked about...
Yolanda Simon: Can I respond to her?
Luiz Loures: Sure, yeah, please.
Yolanda Simon: Hello, are you hearing me? Yes?
Ok, good. I thought that was such an excellent question,
and to be honest I am not sure where people with disabilities,
where they are categorized.
What I can tell you is that the debate about MARPs is
it is heavily weighed on the side of men who have sex with men,
sex workers, and drug users.
I think it would be wonderful if persons who are differently abled
can come to the table and let their voices be heard in unison.
I think what needs to happen is a lot of advocacy
to put that question to those in positions of power,
to be able to respond to you: “Where are you on the continuum?”
I don't know. Luiz, I'm going to throw that back at you
because you represent UNAIDS, and I don't know
where UNAIDS have categorized people with disabilities.
Luiz Loures: Yes, ma'am, you are back to the moderator, and you cannot do that. You're not supposed to.
But anyway, now I think we follow, Yolanda, your views on that.
It's again, to go to the end of the AIDS, nobody can be left behind,
and I think this is the point to take,
and it's not that much an issue of groups,
but it is more an issue of risk situations, and in the case that,
if the people with disability, that is not so a unified universe.
If they engage in risk situations, of course they should be
taken on board as a potential MARP.
But definitely no question, and I think that is a trend today
in terms of response to AIDS, that people with disabilities,
they deserve special attention, and more and more
they are engaged in the discussion on AIDS. I think in this conference there was
if I'm not mistaken there was a preconference event specifically on that,
and there are sessions throughout the conference that deal with people with disabilities.
But, again, we learned that, during the last 10 years:
It's less an issue of groups, it’s more an issue of engaging on situations of risk.
But results diminishes the importance
of taking vulnerability in the center of the response.