*EPF311 05/28/2003
Bush Signs Bill Authorizing $15 Billion to Combat HIV/AIDS
(President will challenge other G-8 countries to make similar commitment) (1060)

By Charles Hays Burchfield
Washington File Staff Writer

Washington -- President Bush May 27 signed into law the U.S. Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria Act of 2003, which authorizes $15,000 million to be spent over five years to help 14 countries combat HIV/AIDS.

"The legislation I sign today launches an emergency effort that will provide $15 billion over the next five years to fight AIDS abroad," Bush said. "This is the largest, single up front commitment in history for an international public health initiative involving a specific disease."

Bush signed the bill in a ceremony at the State Department before a crowd of close to 600 people. The ambassadors from the countries that will be receiving assistance -- Botswana, Ivory Coast, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia in Africa and Guyana and Haiti in the Caribbean -- stood behind the president during the signing.

Secretary of State Colin Powell and Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy Thompson spoke briefly about the importance of fighting HIV/AIDS.

Powell noted that HIV/AIDS is one of the biggest killers on earth. "It is more devastating than any army, any conflict, or any weapon of mass destruction," he said.

The new legislation includes additional money for the Global Fund to Fight HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, and more funding for U.S. efforts in many countries to prevent mother-to-child transmission of the HIV/AIDS.

Bush said this "comprehensive program has the potential in this decade to prevent 7 million new HIV infections, provide life-extending drugs to at least 2 million infected people, give humane care to 10 million HIV sufferers and AIDS orphans."

The president said that when he attends the G-8 Summit opening in Evian-les-Bains, France, June 1, he will challenge the other participants "to follow our lead and to make a similar commitment made by the United States of America so we can save even more lives."

Bush welcomed the work of religious and educational institutions to confront the AIDS crisis. He singled out John F. Galbraith, president and CEO of the Catholic Medical Mission Board (CMMB). CMMB runs 15 clinics in southern Africa and Haiti, where more than 20,000 pregnant women each year receive HIV testing and counseling and drug therapy to prevent the transmission of the virus to their children, the president said.

Galbraith, who also serves on the President's Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS, said he hopes his organization will be one that receives funding from the legislation so CMMB can do more in Africa. He said he's pleased that the bill offers a balanced approach that includes both prevention and treatment.

"I think it's the right step at this time," Galbraith said. "We at Catholic Medical Mission Board are very happy that this day has finally come."

The presidents of two non-profit organizations, Leslee J. Unruh of Abstinence Clearinghouse and Shepherd Smith of the Institute for Youth Development said they were both pleased with the support for abstinence-based prevention education in the bill.

"We are thrilled about the bipartisan support to help us spread the word all over this world about the effectiveness of abstinence," Unruh said.

"For the first time in this epidemic, I really feel a sense of hope that we can get a handle on it and ultimately curtail its spread," Smith said.

Global Health Council President and CEO Nils Daulaire said his organization has been engaged for a long time trying to move a "strong" AIDS bill forward through outreach efforts that included generating grass-roots support and lobbying members of Congress and the Bush administration.

"We are thrilled that a bill has been passed and that the president's signing it, and we're waiting to have the opportunity to do the real work, which is getting services out to the people who need them," Daulaire said.

Daulaire said the Global Health Council is the world's largest membership alliance dedicated to saving lives by improving health throughout the world. Its membership comprises health-care professionals and organizations -- nongovernmental organizations, foundations, corporations, government agencies and academic institutions -- that work to ensure global health for all.

Linda M. Distlerath, vice president for global health policy at Merck & Co., Inc., a pharmaceutical firm, said Merck is very excited to be a participant in the public-private sector partnerships to fight HIV/AIDS.

Distlerath praised the president's leadership on the issue, and said "Now it's time to put sufficient resources as well as the support organization in place to make sure the funding can be used at a country level for a very efficient, accountable and results-driven outcome."

Distlerath said Merck currently sells two HIV/AIDS drugs, Stocrin and Sustiva, at non-profit prices in African countries and has been working on an AIDS vaccine for the past 17 years. She said Merck has pledged $62 million to curb the spread of HIV in Africa and currently trains physicians in Africa specifically in HIV/AIDS care.

Another corporation that wants to help in the fight against HIV/AIDS is DaimlerChrysler. W. Frank Fountain, senior vice president of government affairs at DaimlerChrysler, said he thinks the legislation signed by Bush is "fantastic."

"I think it shows America's leadership, and it's going to put us in the forefront of the HIV/AIDS fight for Africa and the world, and other countries should follow suit and match the U.S. funds," Fountain said.

Fountain said DaimlerChrysler recently built a $200 million factory in South Africa -- one of the biggest private-sector investments in southern Africa in many years. Fountain said at least one third of the employees at the factory have AIDS or are infected with HIV, and DaimlerChrysler is taking care of its employees.

"We put together one of the most progressive health care programs for our workers and their families anywhere in Africa," Fountain said.

Both Powell and Bush have said that public-private partnerships are crucial to fighting HIV/AIDS. Bush said the United States will keep its commitment until the tide is turned against the disease.

"The United States of America has the power and we have the moral duty to help," Bush said. "And I'm proud that our blessed and generous nation is fulfilling that duty."

(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

Return to Public File Main Page

Return to Public Table of Contents