In the global fight against AIDS, every nation, large or small, developed or developing, must be a leader. For every nation is vulnerable. No nation is protected by geography or by political boundaries or social boundaries or religious boundaries. AIDS will attack us all and is attacking us all. AIDS is ravaging communities, countries, continents. Left to rage, it can rob us all of a more stable, prosperous, hopeful future.

Each of us here today and the power to act. The positions we hold in our governments give our voices resonance at home and abroad. We can and must use our voices to convince others of the urgency and gravity of this global problem.

The statistics are well known to all of us, but they are chilling at every re-telling: 42 million people now live with HIV/AIDS. Tens of millions are at high risk of infection. An estimated 8,500 people die every day. That's six people every minute.

When millions are struck down, countless millions more of their family members, of their friends, of their co-workers, feel the blow, both emotional and economic. There are 14 million AIDS orphans in the world. Unless we stem the pandemic, the number will swell to 25 million by the end of this decade.

Some of you may have been seeing this public service announcement on television over the last week or two, of children, young children aged two, three four, walking through an empty village or an empty street on an empty city, illustrating vividly what happens when these children are left as orphans and no one is there to care for them, to educate them, to give them hope, to give them a promise of a better life.

These appalling statistics only begin to measure the magnitude of the destruction. HIV doesn't just destroy immune systems; it also undermines the social, economic and political systems that underpin entire nations and regions. And the disease spreads fastest in places under stress, weakening already fragile support systems beyond the breaking point, causing whole societies to begin to shudder and reach the edge of collapse.

For the first time, women account for half of all adult cases. And women are the ultimate glue that holds families, cultures and communities together.

Every one of us here can help to ensure that AIDS is a top priority for the world's governments and our international community. One of the most effective ways to do that is by encouraging political leaders and opinion shapers at all levels of our societies to speak out. It is critically important that accurate, life-saving information reaches all of the people in our countries.

Like all great evils, AIDS feeds on ignorance and fear. When people lack knowledge of how infections can be prevented, and when those infected are stigmatized and driven into the shadows, the virus thrives, and hope withers. Consigning the disease to silence means condemning more and more of our citizens to their deaths. There can be no taboos, no sensitivities; the crisis is too real, too great for that.

All of us have a responsibility to send the message that the virus is the enemy, not the men, not the women, and above all, not the innocent children who contract it. We have the responsibility to send the message that people living with AIDS should not be treated with cruelty and discrimination, but with dignity and with compassion.

A crucial element of leadership is the vision and skill to forge partnerships among governments and between the state and the private sector, and with faith-based organizations as well. We must also build partnerships across cultural and class lines, between individuals and institutions, and between those who live with the disease and their fellow citizens. Together, we can help to break the vicious cycle of the disease by widening the circle of those who receive preventative education, medical treatment and compassionate care.

Experience shows that major inroads against the disease can be made when all elements of society work together. In Uganda, President Museveni has made it a point to speak out about AIDS at every opportunity and he has made all of his ministers, not just his health minister, responsible and accountable for results. The Ugandan Government nourished grassroots efforts, and those efforts are flourishing. The infection rate in Uganda has fallen by 50 percent since 1992.

Cambodia is the Asian country with the highest percentage of adults with HIV; yet thanks to sustained prevention programs that link government and nongovernmental organizations, Cambodia has reduced high-risk behaviors and stabilized the rate of infection.

In the 1980s, the World Bank predicted that 1.2 million Brazilians would be infected by HIV today. But due to enlightened policies, leaders doing something about that statistic, doing something by fighting discrimination, through public-private cooperation, the number of HIV-positive Brazilians is one-half of the number that had been projected.

There are so many other examples one could give of enlightened leadership around the world taking on this task, but we need enlightened leadership everywhere in the world to take on this task.

I am proud that President Bush and the members of his administration are taking on this task and trying to be leaders in this effort against HIV/AIDS. I am proud that the United States was the first country to pledge support for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, which Dr. Feachum so ably leads. The United States continues to be the largest single contributor to the Fund. Our $500 million pledge has attracted $1.6 billion more from others to date. And as the Fund proves its success, President Bush has pledged to work with Congress to increase the level of our support. And I am pleased within the last few days that the Fund has reached agreements to disburse its first three grants -- to Tanzania, Haiti and Ghana.

The United States also remains the world's largest contributor to worldwide AIDS research, as well as the largest contributor to bilateral programs with nations to combat the disease. Our efforts are increasing and intensifying. The mother-to-child transmission program, announced by President Bush this summer, will provide $500 million for work in an initial 14 countries.

And I want to assure you that I have made this a priority for every one of our ambassadors overseas. This must be a priority for every leader in the Bush Administration and it is a priority, whether you are here in Washington or leading one of our missions anywhere in the world.

In the fight against AIDS, each of your countries will find a strong and willing partner in the United States of America. As men and women all around the globe mark World AIDS Day with renewed pledges of commitment, may we in the diplomatic community strengthen our own resolve to replace ignorance with information, shame with support, and helplessness with hope.