“Don’t Exclude!” “Let us absorb!” protesters tell Global Fund Interim Director Marijke Wijnroks Tuesday

PARIS – It wouldn’t be a conference without a protest. For that matter, there wouldn’t be conferences, if there hadn’t been protests.

A proud tradition continues here this week, with protesters Tuesday surrounding Global Fund Interim Director Marike Wijnroks as she offered opening remarks at a session with the theme “Treat All.”

Raising signs exhorting: “Don’t exclude, Support,” they stepped to the microphone to challenge Global Fund policies related to funding for middle-income countries and to criticize the Global Fund for “pursuing an agenda of favoring U.S. and international NGOs over community-based organizations.”

And today, as plenary speakers discussed new approaches to treatments for HIV, TB, hepatitis B, and cancer, protesters took the stage to: “Celebrate: U = U!” — Undetectable equals Untransmittable — and raise a call for accelerated access to viral load testing.