Ousman,

Both AIDS activists and African countries alike agree that this is probably 
the most important bit fo news that Bush gave during his state of the union 
address, at least as far as the AIDS crisis and its' victims are concerned.
Everyone is praying that the funds will inded be made available. 
The main fear that everyone has is that in the past, $500 million has been 
pledged by the Bush administration to help the fight against transmission of 
the virus from pregnant mothers to unborn infants. Unfortunately, these funds 
were never actually provided and the Bush administration eventually dropped 
it completely out of the budget.
They also pledged $5 billion that has yet to be requested for release. 
Many people are wondering where this money will come from in view of the 
state of the economy and the huge defecit that the Buh whilte house has 
amassed already even without figuring in the huge tax cuts they are committed 
to.
However, we can only hope that this money will be provided as pledged and 
made available because it sure would mean the difference between life and 
death for  AIDS ravaged  victims in many African countries that are 
especially hit hard by this terrible disease.
This one was definitley a very positive message coming from the Bush 
Whitehouse, and i think that some commendation should  also go to some of the 
healthcare professionals who sent a letter to the White house on the eve of 
the state of the union address asking his intervention and pledge for 
assistance on the AIDS fight as reported in a piece that Ylva Hernlund 
forwarded to the list.  

Jabou Joh

In a message dated 1/30/03 4:42:22 AM Central Standard Time, 
[log in to unmask] writes:


> From the New York Times
> 
> http://www.nytimes.com/2003/01/30/international/africa/30AFRI.html
> 
> Africans Welcome U.S. Help on AIDS
> By RACHEL L. SWARNS
> 
> 
> OHANNESBURG, Jan. 29 — Astonished officials in Africa and the Caribbean
> today welcomed the Bush administration's plan to spend $10 billion in new
> money on AIDS drugs, education, doctors and specialized laboratories in 14
> countries ravaged by AIDS.
> 
> Twelve countries in Africa, the region hit hardest by the disease, stand to
> benefit from the money, which will be spread over five years. The
> initiative, which was announced by President Bush in his State of the Union
> message, is intended to provide drugs for two million people, care for 10
> million AIDS patients and orphans, and education to help stem the epidemic.
> The plan will also cover AIDS projects in Haiti and Guyana.
> 
> Congress must first approve the program, which will include $5 billion of
> previously announced spending, and officials scrambled today for details
> about how it would work. Some worried that the Bush administration might 
> not
> pay for condoms. Others noted that the money, while welcome, would have
> little effect in a continent where nearly 30 million people are infected
> with H.I.V., the virus that causes AIDS.
> 
> The United Nations estimates that by 2005, $10.5 billion will be needed to
> cover the costs of the epidemic each year. But that did not stop people 
> from
> praising the Bush administration, which said it was tripling its spending 
> on
> AIDS. In the past, the administration has often been criticized for doing
> too little to stop the epidemic.
> 
> "My prayer is that when this funding comes we'll see a reduction of people
> being affected by AIDS," said Prega Ramsamy, the executive director of the
> Southern African Development Community, which represents most countries in
> this region.
> 
> Doctors in Haiti, which has the highest rate of H.I.V. infection outside of
> sub-Saharan Africa, were buoyed by the president's proposal, which they say
> comes at a time when an increase in AIDS clinics is expected to produce a
> 50-fold rise in the number of people identified as infected with H.I.V.
> 
> "It can have a huge impact," said Dr. Jean W. Pape, who directs the Gheskio
> Centers, which has been at the forefront of fighting the illness in Haiti.
> "By identifying more people, we will need much more support for care. It is
> essential that we be able to offer care to those people."
> 
> Dr. Pape's group, which is affiliated with Cornell University, has 
> increased
> the number of doctors trained to fight the disease and is helping staff 25
> clinics throughout Haiti. But he said it was still especially important to
> increase the number of people who have access to antiretroviral therapy. At
> his center, one of only two in the country that offer such treatment, only
> 100 patients are receiving those drugs.
> 
> "But we have 4,000 right now who require therapy," he said, speaking only 
> of
> patients served at his clinic. "Right now we give them help with preventing
> and treating opportunistic infections. But that is very different than
> offering ARV therapy. We don't have the drugs." Upwards of 300,000 Haitians
> are H.I.V.-positive, he said, and of those about 30,000 require therapy.
> 
> In Botswana, officials said they hoped the money would be used to buy AIDS
> drugs and to hire more doctors and nurses. Botswana is the only country in
> Africa to commit to providing AIDS drugs for all its citizens. But the
> disease is killing Botswana's nurses and doctors, and the country is
> struggling to fill the gap.
> 
> "This news is a very encouraging thing to us in Africa," said Abinel
> Whendero, the acting coordinator of the government's National AIDS
> Coordinating Agency, said of the Bush plan. "The scourge is taking its 
> human
> toll here."
> 
> Stephen Lewis, the United Nations envoy for AIDS in Africa, hailed the new
> spending plan as "a dramatic signal from the U.S. administration that it is
> ready to confront the pandemic." He said he hoped other wealthy countries
> would follow suit.
> 
> "The international financial delinquency that has haunted the response to
> AIDS in Africa is hardly that of the United States alone," said Mr. Lewis,
> who was visiting Johannesburg as part of fact-finding mission in the 
> region.
> "It extends, without exception, to all the wealthy donor nations."
> 
> The Bush administration said the program would focus on Africa,
> particularly, Botswana, Namibia, Mozambique, Zambia, Uganda, Tanzania,
> Kenya, Ethiopia, Nigeria and Ivory Coast.
> 
> Many questions remain about how the program will work. AIDS experts still 
> do
> not know whether Washington will provide money to governments or send it
> directly to specific projects.
> 
> But even with those lingering questions, regular critics of the American
> government took pains to praise the step forward.
> 
> "Look, more money for AIDS is good news," said Ellen 't Hoen of Doctors
> Without Borders, a medical charity that has led the fight for lower-priced
> AIDS drugs and has criticized the Bush administration. "This is a
> significant increase over what the U.S. government is spending now."
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 

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