Commit To The Fight Against HIV/AIDS

The Bangkok Aids Conference has illuminated several key issues that still need to be dealt with in the fight against AIDS worldwide. One particular issue that requires immediate attention and action is the fact that the United States is not effectively disbursing the funds it has pledged to end the AIDS pandemic.

In 2003 the President of the United States announced his Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) providing 15 billion dollars to fight the AIDS pandemic over five years. The US allocated 2.4 billion dollars for the first year and in 2004 began to spend money in 14 countries (Source: UNAIDS). However, the US has not yet provided any of the 1 billion dollars pledged to the Global Fund, an already existing UN organization whose main premise is to raise funds for AIDS programmes around the world. In addition, the US intends to create new organizations and bodies through which the 15 billion dollars it has pledged will be disbursed. As Kofi Annan remarked during the Conference: "If individual governments begin to set up their own initiatives, they start from scratch, it takes longer, the money that they hold will not be spent for a long time"(www.bbc.co.uk). With 6000 people dying from Aids in Africa alone every day, waiting for the disbursement of funds and the creation of new AIDS programmes is not an option.

The United States also has the intention of using 30 percent of the 15 billion dollars pledged to organizations that promote abstinence instead of condom use or any other means of protection against the virus. This is an outrage and it will dramatically affect the already growing infection rate among women. Women often do not have the luxury to demand that their husbands or partners use protection during intercourse. Legal representation for women in cases of rape or violence is extremely rare and is in itself a luxury in many instances. "In an age where five million people are newly infected each year, and women and girls too often do not have the choice to abstain, an abstinence-until-marriage programme is not only irresponsible, it's really inhumane," (US Congresswoman Barbara Lee, www.bbc.co.uk).

There are many AIDS organizations around the world that are connected to the communities that they serve and have years of experience in AIDS relief work as well AIDS education and prevention. They are poised and ready to act immediately in order to end this pandemic. We must do our part. It is time to demand that the Government of the United States of America step forward and commit resources to the fight against the AIDS epidemic.

We call on all American Political Leaders to urge the Government of the United States of America to adhere to the following preliminary measures so as to prevent the loss of lives now:

Immediately begin the distribution of the 1 billion dollars pledged to the Global Fund as requested by Kofi Annan, the United Nations Secretary General.
Eliminate all intent to create new AIDS programmes and commit to working with existing programmes in all target countries due to the urgency of the situation.
Immediately distribute funds and essential drugs to established AIDS programmes in all target countries.
Provide immediate support to AIDS programmes providing women with the means to protect themselves from their partners.