Annie Lennox: 'World leaders negligent on AIDS'

Annie Lennox has charged that world leaders haven't taken significant action to stop the spread of AIDS among young girls in the third world.

The 'Sweet Dreams' singer and HIV-AIDS advocate was invited to speak at the United Nations' 'HIV Priorities for Positive Change: In Women's Words' event in New York City on Tuesday, but used her speech to admonish the group for not taking decisive steps to eradicate the disease.

Lennox told the audience: "What does it say about us as human beings if, after having made all these massive steps forwards, millions of women and girls do not reach their full potential, but continue to die prematurely?... What does it say about leaders of nations in powerful positions who do not do everything in their power to ensure that the health, human rights, security and dignity of women and girls is definitively protected."

She went on to criticise a UN resolution that would focus on providing care and prevention for adult women, insisting that the policy would fail to prevent the deaths of those under childbearing age.

"Right now, we are at a crucial juncture when we have the unique opportunity to turn the AIDS pandemic around... Yet right now, here at the UN as world leaders gather to plot the future course of the HIV response, the resolution is only referring to women in the context of becoming mothers," Lennox said.

"As well as focusing on mothers producing healthy infants, we must also address the needs and rights of women themselves - at every stage of their life. In my view, negligent non action as a response to the HIV epidemic - as it affects women and girls - is just as bad, just as accountable as criminal action... As long as we continue to exclude women and girls in this whole equation, Aids will never be over."

Lennox has been one of pop music's prominent advocates on behalf of HIV-AIDS sufferers, launching The SING Campaign to raise awareness of women and children affected by the disease in 2007.

The musician will receive the O2 Silver Clef charity prize from Nordoff Robbins at a July ceremony to be held at London's Hilton Hotel.

> Annie Lennox gets OBE for charity work

Watch Annie Lennox perform 'Why' from Live 8 below: