Combating the International HIV/AIDS Pandemic (Text Only)

Combating the International HIV/AIDS Pandemic

Laura Bush turns to her guest, Dr. Peter Mugyenyi of Uganda, during President George W. Bush's State of the Union address at the U.S. Capitol Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2003. Serving as chairman for several efforts fighting the spread of the AIDS virus, Dr. Mugyenyi directs the Joint Clinical Research Center in Uganda. In his speech President Bush asked Congress to commit $15 billion to afflicted African nations and the Caribbean.

President Bush announced the Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, a five-year, $15 billion initiative to turn the tide in the global effort to combat the HIV/AIDS pandemic. The HIV/AIDS pandemic has killed at least 20 million of the more than 60 million people it has infected thus far, leaving 14 million orphans worldwide.

Today, on the continent of Africa, nearly 30 million people have the AIDS virus - including three million children under the age of 15. There are whole countries in Africa where more than one-third of the adult population carries the infection. More than four million require immediate drug treatment. Yet across that continent, only 50,000 AIDS victims are receiving the medicine they need.

The President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief will help the most afflicted countries in Africa and the Caribbean wage and win the war against HIV/AIDS, extending and saving lives. The following countries will be the focus of the initiative: Botswana, Cote d'Ivoire, Ethiopia, Guyana, Haiti, Kenya, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia.

In each of these countries, the United States will work with private groups and willing governments to put in place a comprehensive system for diagnosing, preventing and treating AIDS. Central hospitals will have laboratories, specialized doctors, and nurses to anchor the system. Satellite clinics will provide antiretroviral drugs and education on the prevention of AIDS. By truck and motorcycle, nurses and local healers will reach the farthest villages and farms to test for the disease and to deliver life-saving drugs.

The initiative is intended to:

Prevent 7 million new infections (60 percent of the projected 12 million new infections in the target countries);
Provide antiretroviral drugs for 2 million HIV-infected people; and
Care for 10 million HIV-infected individuals and AIDS orphans.

The $15 billion virtually triples the current U.S. commitment to fighting AIDS internationally. It includes $10 billion in new funds, of which $1 billion is for the Global Fund to Fight HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria. Funding will begin with $2 billion in FY 04 and ramp up thereafter.

ONAP

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