Global AIDS Funding Sign-on Letter to President Clinton
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Dear Friends and Colleagues,
As you are probably aware, despite continuous urging of the Clinton Ad-
ministration to allocate more funds to global health programs, includ-
ing HIV/AIDS, the Administration has more or less continued to
straight-line funding.
We have recently learned that the President has become personally more
aware of the global devastation of the AIDS pandemic, as a result of
Sandra Thurman's, the Director of the White House Office of National
AIDS Policy, recent trip to Africa.
We are sending this letter to urge the President to remain focused on
this issue, and to request increases in global AIDS funding.
Time is urgent, as the letter must go out at 5 PM, Monday, May 24.
Please respond to this e-mail with the name of your organization, and
the complete name and title as the person who is authorizing sign-on.
We also urge you to send your own letter to President Clinton. Letters
can be sent to:
President William J. Clinton
1600 Pennsylvania Ave., NW;
Washington, DC 20500, USA
You can also call the President's office to express your concerns, his
number is:
+1-202-456-1414
Please send letters or make calls by 5 PM, Friday, May 28, 1999.
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May 20, 1999
Mr. President:
We write to urge you to take bold action to increase America's response
to the global spread of HIV. We do so upon learning that the breadth of
this problem has recently been brought to your personal attention as a
result of your national AIDS policy director's fact-finding trip to
southern Africa.
It is our hope that you will act immediately in light of the signifi-
cant global worsening of this pandemic since you took office.
-- Since 1993, the number of people infected with HIV worldwide has
grown 300% - from 14,000,000 to over 47,000,000. HIV now kills more
people annually than any other infectious disease in the world.
-- Since 1993, Africa has been devastated by the spread of HIV. In the
Republic of South Africa, for example, 4% of pregnant women were in-
fected in 1993. Now nearly 20% of pregnant women are infected with HIV
nationwide, and in some provinces the figure rises above 35%. In rural
areas of East Africa, 40% of children under the age of 15 have been or-
phaned by HIV.
-- Since 1993, Asia has undergone a devastating spread of HIV, with
whole nations that previously had little virus now reporting millions
of cases. For example, India (which had virtually no cases in 1993) now
has between 5 to 10 million infected people, and in some states we are
seeing that 2% of pregnant women infected.
-- The number of HIV infections in Eastern Europe has increased nine-
fold in just three years, growing from less than 30,000 HIV infections
in 1995 to an estimated 270,000 infections by December 1998.
In short, Mr. President, since 1993, we have witnessed the greatest de-
velopment disaster in modern history: the explosive growth of HIV
around the world and the death of tens of millions of people from this
disease.
This emergency demands an aggressive response not only for humanitarian
reasons, but also to protect our nation's goals for global economic
growth and political stability. In 1995 alone, experts estimated that
the global economy had already lost 500 billion dollars due to HIV. The
onslaught is having a serious effect on the long-term economic viabil-
ity of many countries, decimating a limited pool of skilled workers and
devastating health systems.
We are deeply concerned that the administration has essentially
straight-lined funding for global AIDS programs in your budget proposal
to Congress. In a time when HIV/AIDS is ravaging the world, eliminating
entire communities, severely undermining economies and destabilizing
militaries, the administration's FY 2000 budget request included no in-
crease for USAID health programs, and chose not to continue the $10
million emergency program for AIDS-affected children.
Mr. President, don't let this be your legacy on the global AIDS pan-
demic. We appeal to you to take bold action to strengthen our nation's
response to AIDS. Specifically we urge you to:
-- Increase funding for international AIDS and other health programs.
We urge that you seek major increases for global AIDS programs immedi-
ately. These funds should be new money, not diverted from other devel-
opment programs and they should be targeted to reach community groups
in nations most at risk. It does no good to rob Peter to pay Paul.
-- Direct the Agency for International Development, the Department of
State, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Department
of Defense to immediately prioritize AIDS and related health programs,
and to identify new and bold actions they will undertake jointly to ex-
pand their program activity. Lack of funding makes it very difficult
for agencies to prioritize areas that are of great importance to the
epidemic at this time, such as effective preventive strategies, vaccine
development, and care for those affected.
-- Launch a major White House initiative on global AIDS by convening a
high level international meeting on the pandemic. This could take the
form of an "AIDS Summit," as was held in 1994 in Paris, an AIDS- spe-
cific meeting of the G-8, or other high visibility event. The purpose
would be to inform other nations that the US is committed to addressing
HIV as a top global security issue.
Mr. President, time is short. Within the next decade, the cumulative
number of HIV infections is projected to exceed 100 million by 2007.
AIDS orphans are projected to exceed 40 million children by the year
2010.
We greatly appreciate your past role as a great champion on domestic
AIDS funding. We challenge you to champion global AIDS funding as well.
There is still time to alter the horrific projections of the spread of
HIV in the next century. We implore you to act now and to act boldly.
Signed
--
The Global Health Council (formerly NCIH)
Global AIDS Program
1701 K Street, NW,
Suite 600 Washington, DC 20006, USA
Tel: +1-202-833-5900
Fax: +1-202-833-0075
mailto:AIDS@globalhealthcouncil.org
http://www.globalhealthcouncil.org
--
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