U.S.: 3rd World AIDS Funds Will Pass

The U.S. secretary of health and human services said Tuesday he is confident that American lawmakers will approve at least $2 billion later this year to launch President Bush's $15 billion emergency AIDS relief plan for the developing world.

Mr. Bush announced in his State of the Union address in February an unprecedented plan to spend $15 billion over five years to combat HIV and AIDS in Africa and the Caribbean. Congress approved the plan earlier this year, but the second step of passing legislation to make the money available each year is now under way for the fiscal year 2004, which begins Oct. 1.

"The process is working. It is moving faster than it has in a long time in Congress," said Thompson, speaking on the sidelines of an international AIDS conference. He said it was "obvious" that lawmakers would come through.

Republicans and Democrats in Congress have pledged their support to get the money up to $15 billion, he told reporters. The first year probably less than $3 billion will be allocated, and "after that it will be made up over the five-year period."

Mr. Bush asked for $3 billion for next year, but Thompson said it's hard to tell exactly how much Congress will allocate.

"It's going to be above $2 billion. Whether or not it's going to hit the $3 billion, I can't tell you" Thompson said.

The American effort will involve spending 55 percent of the money on treatment, 20 percent on HIV prevention and 25 percent on the care of dying patients and AIDS orphans.

AIDS campaigners, including former South African President Nelson Mandela, have praised the American pledge, saying it is the largest financial contribution in the 20-year history of AIDS.

Fourteen countries have been chosen to receive the money — 12 in Africa and two in the Caribbean. Those countries are home to 50 percent of the world's HIV-infected population.

"We are going to try to give 2 to 3 million individuals antiretroviral drugs. We are also going to try and prevent 7 million individuals in those countries from coming down with HIV," Thompson said. "We are also going to try to treat an additional 10 million."

Another part of the U.S. plan is a $500 million program aimed at the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV. Such a program is already under way in Haiti.

"I think we are going to be able to do a great deal," Thompson said.

Of the total, $1 billion is to be donated to the Global Fund to fight AIDS, TB and Malaria, which was set up last year to funnel money to global AIDS programs.

"This problem is so huge we think you need to try many different ways to attack it," Thompson said.

"The global fund is at its inception and we didn't want to put all our eggs in one basket," he said. "We also had many bilateral programs that were already started (before) the global fund and we wanted to continue them."

Also, as part of Mr. Bush's challenge to the rest of the world — especially Europe — to do as much, the U.S. legislation authorizing the $15 billion plan limited American contributions to the Global Fund to no more than one-third of the total of new donations to the fund.

Experts estimate it will take $10 billion a year over the next few years to make a dent in the global AIDS crisis.

"Of that $10 billion, it was felt that the United States should have about 30 percent of that responsibility, given our size and capabilities," said Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. "The president's program of $15 billion over five years comes to an average of $3 billion a year, so the actual amount that was globally asked for has now been pledged by the United States."

"We strongly encourage other countries to make their contribution to this effort in a manner that best suits their programs. That might be everything that they give goes to the global fund, it might be some mix between the global fund and bilateral programs," Fauci said.

Health Sec.: Congress Will Approve Billions For AIDS Relief Abroad