Bush signs global AIDS funding bill

WASHINGTON, May 27 (UPI) -- President George W. Bush on Tuesday signed a five-year, $15 billion HIV/AIDS bill aimed at stemming the spread of the deadly disease in Africa and the Caribbean.

"In the face of preventable death and suffering, we have a moral duty to act," Bush said at a ceremony at the U.S. State Department.

Bush signed the bill ahead of a trip to Europe at the end of the week and is expected to use the measure to pressure world leaders at the Group of Eight summit in Evian, France, to attack the problem of HIV/AIDS more aggressively.

"I will challenge our partners and our friends to follow our lead and to make a similar commitment made by the United States of America so we can save even more lives."

The U.S. Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria Act of 2003 is expected to prevent 7 million new HIV infections. The disease has killed more than 20 million people worldwide, and currently 42 million more are living with HIV.

The five-year bill will provide funding to The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis & Malaria for AIDS relief and for the prevention of maternal transmission of the virus to children.

Jose M. Zuniga, president of the International Association of Physicians in AIDS Care, said that other wealthy nations of the world -- specifically G8 member nations -- must follow suit with similar funding increases, and that governments that have not made the fight against their domestic AIDS epidemics a priority must do so.

"It is praiseworthy that President Bush, a mere four months after detailing a vision for global AIDS relief during his State of the Union address, today initiated a response commensurate to the tremendous challenges we face and equal to our nation's moral obligation to do more for the most vulnerable among us," Zuniga said.

The measure will allow the purchase of low-cost anti-retroviral medications, train medical personnel and equip clinics and laboratories in the region.

The act will also provide for HIV testing throughout the region and support abstinence-based prevention education, the president said. It is estimated that at the end of 2002, 42 million individuals were infected with HIV or living with AIDS, of which more than 75 percent live in Africa or the Caribbean. Of these individuals, more than 3.2 million were children under the age of 15 and more than 19.2 million were women.

It recommends providing 55 percent of funding for treatment of individuals with HIV/AIDS, 15 percent for palliative care of those with HIV/ADIS, 20 percent for prevention and abstinence programs and 10 percent to vulnerable children and orphans.

Bush said he saw hope in the actions of African governments in the fight against the infectious disease. He pointed to Uganda that he said was pursing a strategy of "prevention, emphasizing abstinence and martial fidelity" and the "responsible" use of condoms to prevent virus transmission.

"The results in Uganda have been remarkable. The AIDS infection rate has fallen sharply since 1990 and in some places the percentage of pregnant women with HIV has been cut in half. The Uganda plan is proving that major progress is possible," Bush said.

Bush also pledged to name a global AIDS coordinator to work with the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to direct the worldwide fight against AIDS.

Democrats criticized the bill-signing saying that the Bush administration has slashed funding in the fiscal year 2004 budget for key global health programs such as maternal health, family planning and reproductive health, infectious diseases, refugee and disaster assistance.

Nils Daulaire, president of the Global Health Council, said that Bush kept his promise to provide assistance that would allow "those of us on the front lines of AIDS care and prevention can help write this significant new chapter in the global response to the AIDS pandemic."

It was last month when Bush unveiled an initiative intended to pump another $15 billion in the global fight against HIV/AIDS, as he fielded criticism that the administration did not focus enough on abstinence as a solution to the pandemic. The measure also restricts the government from penalizing religious groups that oppose the use of condoms.

The United States first pumped $200 million in seed money for the start-up of the global AIDS fund two years ago. In outlining the global fund and its use, Bush said that nations would need to agree on partnerships with private corporations and faith-based groups, a program with a proven track record of success and that emphasizes prevention and includes training of medical personnel as well as treatment and care of those affected.