|TOP|The Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, the Rt. Rev. David Lacy, has taken part in an HIV/AIDS conference as part of his month-long tour of Kenya, at which he called for the world’s governments to exempt vital medicines from the laws protecting intellectual property rights.

The conference in the Kenyan town of Limuru, organised by the Kirk’s HIV/AIDS Project, gathered delegates representing 26 Church-supported projects from across 15 different countries.

Delegates at the meeting, sponsored by the Scottish Executive, adopted a closing statement in which they called for anti-retroviral drugs to be exempted from the existing framework of law protecting intellectual property.

Anti-retroviral medicines play an important role in prolonging the lives of people living with HIV and AIDS, said a Church of Scotland statement.

|QUOTE|“At present, intellectual property law results in high prices for these drugs and a consequential limited availability in developing countries. Introducing an exemption for these drugs would mean an improved quality of life, and a longer life, for millions of people,” it read.

Rev. David Lacy said: “Widening the availability of anti-retroviral medicines in countries such as Kenya is one of the most important steps that developed-world governments could take. At the end of the day, intellectual property law must not be allowed to cost lives.”

The closing statement of the delegates raised a number of concerns, particularly regarding the level of discrimination faced by people living with HIV and AIDS. They called on the world’s governments to enact legislation to protect the human rights of those affected by the disease.

|AD|According to Angola Press, Rev. Lacy praised the Kenyan Government for its efforts in combating the debilitating disease through a number of projects including Voluntary Counselling and Testing services.

“Kenya has put in place small but very effective measures in fighting the pandemic," he said, adding that the country was ahead of most African states in the fight against HIV/AIDS.

Rev. Lacy, however, estimated that the actual number of people in Kenya with HIV and AIDS was far higher than official figures which put the number of infected people at 5.6 per cent.

"The figure as I have witnessed on the ground is far higher than 5.6 per cent," Lacy said, adding, "it could even be as high as 9 per cent."

Rev. Lacy called on Kenyans to launch more community-based initiatives to halt the spread of the disease and enable better treatment for those already infected.