"You talk, we die," chanted a group of HIV-infected people in front of the United Nations (UN) complex on Thursday. Braving rain, they prevented UN vehicles from entering the building for an hour.

Nava Kiran, the organisation providing treatment to Nepali AIDS patients, planned the protest to highlight what it said was the lack of concern displayed by World Health Organisation (WHO). The group says that despite a Global Fund (GF) to treat 3 million HIV positive people around the world by 2005, Nepali patients have not benefited. "Most of the funds are spent on training, awareness, seminars and printing brochures and posters," says Nava Kiran's Parbat Rana. Only 3.3 percent of the money in the GF is spent on antiretroviral (ARV) and other drugs, that help slow down HIV development to full-blown AIDS.

"If these drugs are supplied and at least one hospice built, it will help a lot of HIV patients live a little longer," adds Rana. But the WHO and the government don't seem to consider it a priority. "How can we solve anything? It is up to the politicians," Klaus Wagner (pictured, far right) from WHO explained to Rajiv Kafle, an AIDS activist outside the UN gates.

Six months ago, the group organised a similar protest that resulted in assurances from the UN that it would act soon to scale up treatment. "They have done absolutely nothing and our friends are desperate," says Rana. Nava Kiran is making its own efforts to provide ARV drugs and treatment services to the HIV/AIDS patients.