Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report - Thu, 14 Feb 2002
-----------------------------------------------
* White House Defends Contribution to Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tu-
berculosis and Malaria as Senators and AIDS Activists Call for More
Money
* U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick to Assess HIV/AIDS Impact
in Botswana as Part of a Tour of Sub-Saharan Africa
* AIDS Healthcare Foundation and Rep. Diane Watson Call on Glaxo-
Smith-Kline to Lower the Price of its AIDS Drugs Overseas
--
White House Defends Contribution to Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuber-
culosis and Malaria as Senators and AIDS Activists Call for More
Money
The Bush administration yesterday at a hearing on Capitol Hill de-
fended its contributions to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculo-
sis and Malaria, saying that the United States was the first nation
to contribute to the fund and has so far made the largest contribu-
tion. But senators and AIDS activists urged the government to provide
more resources, AP/Newsday reports. Speaking before the Senate For-
eign Relations Committee, HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson said that the
United States, which allotted $100 million in last year's budget and
$200 million in the fiscal year 2002 budget for the fund, has made a
"tremendously generous contribution," especially in light of budget
pressures resulting from the war on terrorism. Paula Dobriansky, un-
der secretary of state for global affairs, added that the $200 mil-
lion contribution recently allotted for FY 2003 "continue[s] to set
an example for other governments and potential donors" (Meckler,
AP/Newsday, 2/13). White House spokesperson Scott McClellan added
that President Bush would like to see "non-state entities," such as
private companies, nongovernmental groups, faith-based organizations
and foundations, donate to the fund (Zwillich, Reuters Health, 2/13).
Not Enough
However, many senators and AIDS activists voiced concern that the
U.S. contribution is not large enough. Sen. Joseph Biden (D-Del.),
the chair of the committee, said, "We quite frankly look like pikers
when the (Global AIDS Fund) number comes up, relative to the need."
He acknowledged that the government already spends close to $1 bil-
lion annually on international AIDS efforts -- most of which is dis-
tributed through USAID and the CDC -- but said it is not enough to
combat "one of the most, if not the most, pressing health concerns of
our time." Sen. Russell Feingold (D-Wis.) echoed Biden's call for
more funding, though he cautioned against "putting too much funding
in one place" (Sternberg, USA Today, 2/14). He added that the $200
million "does not reflect the leadership role our country ought to
take" in the fight against AIDS. U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan
yesterday spoke privately with the committee, and although he did not
make a specific request for more money, he consistently noted that
the U.S. contribution "has a significant leveraging effect," accord-
ing to Biden, who added, "The more we do, the more other countries
will do" (Stolberg, New York Times, 2/14). Meanwhile, AIDS activists,
such as Fred Dillon of the San Francisco AIDS Foundation, said that
the government was able to "find $40 billion" for the war on terror-
ism but has not faced AIDS with the same urgency. "We need the same
kind of response for global AIDS," Dillon said (USA Today, 2/14).
Sen. Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) said that AIDS poses a significant national
security risk on top of its humanitarian ramifications. He said that
AIDS orphans, "with little guidance in their lives," will be "prime
candidates" for terrorist groups searching for new recruits
(AP/Newsday, 2/13). Speaking at the Senate hearing, Andrew Natsios,
head of USAID, indicated that the administration may be willing to
increase its contribution if the fund proves successful in its first
year. "If this global trust fund works as well as we hope it will,
then we should put more money into it. But it hasn't proven itself
yet," he cautioned (New York Times, 2/14).
Global CARE Act
Meanwhile, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) announced yesterday that he had
introduced the Global CARE Act, legislation designed to "increase co-
ordination between U.S. agencies" working on international HIV/AIDS
efforts to "ensure better accountability for the investment of human
and financial capital in the disease." The bill, which would allocate
$2.5 billion to U.S. agencies working with HIV/AIDS and to the global
fund, would also provide for treatment, prevention and care of people
with HIV/AIDS and assistance for AIDS orphans. "With this bill we
seek to ensure that the various agencies we fund to provide AIDS as-
sistance are making the most of the money we appropriate, that they
are not duplicating efforts, that they are learning from each others'
programmatic experience and research in order to implement the best
practices and that they are accountable to Congress and the American
people for achieving measurable goals and objectives," Durbin said in
the announcement (Durbin release, 2/13).
--
U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick to Assess HIV/AIDS Impact
in Botswana as Part of a Tour of Sub-Saharan Africa
U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick today will begin a tour of
sub-Saharan Africa that will include a visit to Botswana to "assess
the impact" of HIV/AIDS in the country, the South African Press Asso-
ciation reports (South African Press Association, 2/14). Zoellick to-
day will leave Kenya, the first stop on his three-nation tour, and
head to South Africa, where he will meet with members of the Southern
African Development Community on Saturday and with South African
Trade and Industry Minister Alec Erwin on Monday. "No U.S.-Africa
trade program can be effective without taking account of the impact
HIV/AIDS is having on the continent," Zoellick said. The goals of Zo-
ellick's visit to sub-Saharan Africa are to encourage trade between
the United States and the region, to further "common objectives" in
the World Trade Organization and to explore the possibility of a free
trade pact with southern Africa (Agence France-Presse, 2/14). Next
week, Zoellick will visit Botswana to "see for himself" what the Bot-
swana Harvard Institute HIV Reference Laboratory is doing to fight
HIV/AIDS. Researchers at the laboratory -- which is funded in part by
the Botswanan government and U.S. drug company Bristol-Myers Squibb
and is "one of the largest and most sophisticated" HIV research cen-
ters -- conduct epidemiological and laboratory research on the pre-
vention of vertical HIV transmission and the development and testing
of HIV treatments and vaccines. Botswana, where 36% of the population
aged 15 to 49 is HIV-positive, has "one of the world's highest" inci-
dences of HIV (South African Press Association, 2/14).
--
AIDS Healthcare Foundation and Rep. Diane Watson Call on GlaxoSmith-
Kline to Lower the Price of its AIDS Drugs Overseas
Rep. Diane Watson (D-Calif.) and the AIDS Healthcare Foundation yes-
terday held a number of media events and will today run a newspaper
advertisement urging drug maker GlaxoSmithKline to lower the price of
its antiretroviral drugs for developing countries. In addition to
hosting press conferences in Washington, D.C., North Carolina, South
Africa and the United Kingdom, the foundation is sponsoring an open
letter to GSK in today's Raleigh News & Observer calling on the com-
pany to lower its drug prices (AIDS Healthcare Foundation release,
2/13). The ad bears the headline, "Lower AIDS Drug Prices ... Do the
Right Thing -- Now!" The letter states that the drug maker "offers
the best hope to save millions of ... lives through its unique multi-
drug formulations that combine several life-saving AIDS drugs in one
pill," adding that in spite of GSK's "preferential pricing" program,
the drugs are still too expensive for people in developing nations.
In addition, the letter states that "GSK's bureaucracy has created
needless red tape for clinics providing care to the poor, a hurdle
that none of GSK's peers require." The letter concludes, "We call on
GSK to immediately reduce AIDS drug prices and cut the red tape: Cor-
porate responsibility demands no less" (AIDS Healthcare Foundation
Web site, 2/14). The AIDS Healthcare Foundation has also posted an
online petition denouncing GSK pricing practices on its Web site.
AIDS Healthcare Foundation President Michael Weinstein said that un-
der GSK's pricing system, antiretroviral drug regimens can cost
$2,000 per patient per year in developing nations, a cost that is out
of reach for most individuals and governments. The AIDS Healthcare
Foundation and Watson are calling on GSK to lower the cost of its
antiretroviral drugs so that a drug regimen involving its medicines
would cost $500 per patient per year. Watson said that although re-
search and development for new drugs is expensive, GSK should be able
to lower its prices because it receives funding and "generous tax in-
centives" from the U.S. government (AIDS Healthcare Foundation re-
lease, 2/13).
--
The Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report is published for kaisernetwork.org,
a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, by National
Journal Group Inc. � 2002 by National Journal Group Inc. and Kaiser
Family Foundation. All rights reserved.
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