Fact Sheet: White House Outlines Proposal for Global Fund to Fight HIV/AIDS

11 May 2001

Fact Sheet: White House Outlines Proposal for Global Fund to Fight HIV/AIDS

Bush announces $200 million U.S. contribution

President Bush announced May 11 that the United States is ready to contribute $200 million to a global fund to be used against HIV/AIDS and other infectious diseases. The White House also released a fact sheet describing the administration's views on the policies that should govern the fund. The fund will be an important item on the international agenda at an upcoming United Nations General Assembly session on AIDS to be held in New York June 25-27.

Following is the text of the fact sheet.

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The White House

May 11, 2001

Fact Sheet on Proposed Global Fund to Fight HIV/AIDS, Malaria and Tuberculosis

Today's Presidential Action

-- President Bush today outlined the United States' proposal for the key elements of a new global fund to fight HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis.

-- This international public-private partnership will provide grants for prevention, treatment, and care.

-- The United States will back this international effort by providing $200 million in seed money for FY 2002. Additionally, the Administration will work with the G-8 and private foundations, corporations, faith-based groups and other organizations to generate additional support for this global effort.

Facts and Figures

-- Collectively, HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis are ravaging developing nations, causing 25% of all deaths worldwide.

-- The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) estimates that 36 million people are now living with HIV/AIDS. Seventy percent of these people are in sub-Saharan Africa, where HIV/AIDS is now the leading cause of death.

-- Worldwide, more than 22 million people have died since the AIDS epidemic began in the 1970s.

-- Tuberculosis accounted for 1.7 million deaths last year.

-- Malaria killed more than 1 million people last year -- mostly children in Africa.

The Administration's International Leadership on Preventing Disease

-- The United States is the largest bilateral donor of HIV/AIDS assistance, providing for nearly 50% of all international HIV/AIDS funding.

-- Under President Bush's leadership, the United States will continue to pursue an integrated approach to fighting disease, focusing on prevention of new infections and training medical professionals, as well as treatment and care. The United States believes that we must continue and expand our efforts on prevention the most proven and cost-effective way to address these global challenges.

-- The global fund to fight HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis will be an important multilateral tool for addressing these global epidemics.

-- The United States will continue to work with other countries to ensure that the global fund:

(1) is a public-private partnership;

(2) pursues an integrated approach, emphasizing prevention in a continuum of treatment and care;

(3) focuses on "best practices" by funding a core menu of programs proven to work, then scaling up;

(4) promotes scientific and medical accountability by requiring proposals to be reviewed for effectiveness by medical and public health experts; and

(5) respects intellectual property rights as an important incentive for the development of new drugs.

The Bush Administration's HIV/AIDS Task Force

-- In April, President Bush expanded the mandate of the Office of National AIDS Policy (ONAP) to better facilitate domestic and international policy efforts on HIV/AIDS.

-- ONAP is supporting a new high-level task force -- chaired by the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Health and Human Services, and including the White House Domestic Policy Advisor and the National Security Advisor -- to coordinate the Administration's proactive activities and responses to all aspects of the domestic and international HIV/AIDS crisis.

The President's Budget Provides Needed Resources to Fight Infectious Diseases

-- In addition to the $200 million commitment to the new Global Fund, the President's budget:

- Allocates $480 million in funding to fight the international HIV/AIDS epidemic, an 8% increase from Fiscal Year 2001 and a 113% increase from Fiscal Year 2000.

- Dedicates $10.2 billion in the HHS budget to fight HIV/AIDS, and increase of 7.2%.

- Provides $2.5 billion for the National Institutes of Health for HIV/AIDS research, an increase of $258 million or 12%.

(end Fact Sheet)