Federative Republic of Brazil
Minister José Serra
In 1992, Brazil began domestically producing generic versions of popular AIDS drugs as part of a national program to control the spread of the virus. It has seen AIDS deaths drop by over 40 percent in major urban areas. According to the World Health Organization, there were 610,000 HIV-positive Brazilians at the end of 2001. José Serra was appointed Brazil’s Minister of Health in 1998. He ran for president in 2002, finishing second. The following is excerpted from a June 27, 2001, speech by Minister Serra during the UN General Assembly Special Session on HIV/AIDS.Twenty years have gone by since…
