Boston Globe
January 29, 2003

WASHINGTON - President Bush proposed last night tripling US funds to fight AIDS globally to $15 billion over the next five years, which he said would treat 2 million people infected with the deadly disease.

The government now spends roughly $1 billion annually on AIDS, including research. The initiative would add an average of $2 billion annually for five years. But the money will be phased in, starting with $1 billion in new funds in fiscal 2004.

Saying "seldom has history offered a greater opportunity to do so much for so many," Bush said that an emergency plan for AIDS relief would be ''a work of mercy beyond all current international efforts to help the people of Africa.''

The White House said that the plan calls for $10 billion in new funds, and that its focus will be in Botswana, Ivory Coast, Ethiopia, Guyana, Haiti, Kenya, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia. Of the $10 billion, according to the White House, $1 billion will go to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria.

AIDS activists, who have passionately criticized the administration for not giving more money to fight the disease, praised the thrust of the initiative, although many said they needed to study the details before judging the plan fully.

President Bush addresses a joint session of Congress during his State of the Union address last night. (AFP photo)

"We applaud the president for acting to address the plague of AIDS in Africa," said Paul Davis, director of US government relations for Health GAP, an AIDS activist group.

Urging that the administration finance the plan now, Davis cautioned, "the administration has an unfortunate record of delaying funding for AIDS initiatives, at a cost of thousands of lives."

Bush noted that more than 4 million of the 30 million people infected with HIV or AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa need immediate treatment from life-extending antiretroviral drugs. About 50,000 now receive treatment in Africa, he said.

"Only 50,000," he said slowly. "Because the AIDS diagnosis is considered a death sentence, many do not seek treatment. Almost all who do are turned away. A doctor in rural South Africa describes his frustration. He says, `We have no medicines ... many hospitals tell [people], `You've got AIDS. We can't help you. Go home and die.'"

The president added: "In an age of miraculous medicines, no person should have to hear those words. AIDS can be prevented. Antiretroviral drugs can extend life for many years. ... This nation can lead the world in sparing innocent people from a plague of nature."

Among those applauding the president was a special guest of First Lady Laura Bush - Peter Mugyenyi, director of the Joint Clinical Research Center in Uganda, a country that is a pioneer in fighting the disease in sub-Saharan Africa.

John Donnelly can be reached at donnelly@globe.com.

This story ran on page A18 of the Boston Globe on 1/29/2003.
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