FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Ann-Louise Colgan, Africa Action 202-546-7961

Africa Action & TransAfrica Forum Call for $15 billion NOW to Fight
AIDS in Africa;
Groups condemn U.S. Global HIV/AIDS Strategy as "inadequate
and overdue"

Friday, February 27, 2004 (Washington, DC) - As U.S. policymakers
continue to debate "appropriate" funding levels to fight AIDS in
Africa, and just days after the release of the Bush Administration's
Global HIV/AIDS Strategy, Africa Action & TransAfrica Forum today
released the following document entitled "10 Reasons Why the U.S.
should commit at least $15 billion to fight HIV/AIDS in Africa NOW."
The document calls for a reversal of the current U.S. policy
approach, urging an immediate front-end investment to combat
HIV/AIDS rather than the incremental scaling up of funding in future
years.

Salih Booker, Executive Director of Africa Action said today,
"Current discussions about U.S. funding levels are missing the
point, and undermining the urgency needed in the U.S. response to
the HIV/AIDS crisis in Africa. When 6,000 Africans are dying of
AIDS every day, there is a clear and immediate need for a major
increase in U.S. funding beyond what Congress has been asked to
consider. We are highlighting just ten ways in which $15 billion can
effectively be spent now to save lives and prevent the further spread
of the pandemic in Africa."

The document urges a major up-front investment from the U.S. to
meet the magnitude of the HIV/AIDS crisis in Africa and to help build
the capacity of African countries to respond. It outlines the funding
needed for essential prevention and treatment programs, for
strengthening the capacity of health care infrastructure, and for the
Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. Finally, the
document contrasts the minimal level of spending on HIV/AIDS with
the exorbitant spending on military defense, stating that this reveals
the skewed priorities of this Administration when it comes to
combating real global threats.

Bill Fletcher, Jr, President of TransAfrica Forum said today, "Bush
promised $15 billion for AIDS in Africa, and this money is needed
now, not spread out over 5 years. It is logical that the start-up phase
of this initiative requires a major up-front investment. Instead, the
Global Strategy finally released this week proposes ramping up a
slow response to this deadly crisis, while millions of African lives
could be saved by acting now."

Salih Booker added, "We are deeply concerned that the U.S.'
neglect of African efforts to defeat AIDS is evidence of a double
standard in U.S. foreign policy that devalues Black lives."

The U.S. approach outlined by the Bush Administration this week
undermines the Global Fund to fight AIDS, by withholding resources
from this important vehicle and by neglecting to coordinate with its
existing efforts.

The U.S. is instead creating an unnecessary bureaucracy headed by
a drug company executive, Randall Tobias, who places priority on
protecting the interests of the pharmaceutical industry rather than
supporting access to less costly generic AIDS treatments for those
who need them in Africa.

The two organizations also note that while at least $15 billion is
needed from the U.S. now to fight AIDS in Africa, African countries
are still spending some $15 billion each year repaying old,
illegitimate and odious debts to rich country creditors such as the
World Bank and IMF, within which the U.S. is the most powerful
player.

The following document is also available on Africa Action's website
at http://www.africaaction.org:
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10 Reasons Why the U.S. should commit At least $15 billion to fight
HIV/AIDS in Africa NOW

Africa Action and TransAfrica Forum believe that current debates
among U.S. policy- makers and advocacy groups about
"appropriate" funding levels to fight AIDS in Africa are misplaced,
and fail to represent the urgency of the crisis.

In his 2003 State of the Union address, President Bush promised
$15 billion to meet the "severe and urgent crisis" of HIV/AIDS in
Africa & the Caribbean. But instead of making this "emergency"
money available immediately, the President proposed to wait one
year and then spread it out over another five years (2004 - 2008),
starting with minor increases in funding and projecting gradual
increases in out years. In 2003, while the U.S. stalled, some two
and a half million Africans died of AIDS.

The release of the "U.S. Five-Year Global HIV/AIDS Strategy" on
February 23, 2003 comes 13 months after the President's promise,
and nearly half a year after the new U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator
took office. It aspires to turn the tide of the global pandemic, but
offers such low funding levels as to make this impossible. It also
centers on the creation of a new bureaucracy that competes with
and undermines the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis &
Malaria.

We believe that the U.S. should provide at least $15 billion NOW to
fight HIV/AIDS in Africa. The need is clear, as more than 6,000
Africans are dying of AIDS every day. And there are many ways in
which this money can effectively be put to use immediately to save
lives and prevent the further spread of the pandemic. We are
concerned that the U.S.' failure to provide the resources needed to
support African efforts to defeat HIV/AIDS is evidence that racism is
a determinant in U.S. foreign policy, and that a double standard
exists that devalues Black lives. As Peter Piot, head of UNAIDS,
has said of the AIDS pandemic's concentration in Africa, "If this
would have happened.with white people, the reaction would be
different."

The following are ten reasons why a commitment of at least $15
billion is required from the U.S. NOW to address the magnitude of
the HIV/AIDS crisis in Africa.

1. Reverse the funding approach: For 20 years, the U.S. has failed
to spend the money required to stem the devastating global spread
of HIV/AIDS. As a result, more than 25 million lives have been lost,
most of these in Africa - the world's poorest continent and "ground
zero" of the AIDS pandemic. Without an immediate and significant
increase in funding, HIV/AIDS will continue to spread out of control.
A major front-end investment is required from the U.S. to match the
magnitude of this challenge and to help strengthen the capacity of
African countries to respond. Rather than slowly ramping up in the
future, while millions more lives are lost each year, the U.S. should
spend at least $15 billion now to get the pandemic under control. A
real commitment now will avoid exponential increases both in
infection rates and in funding requirements later. In other words, the
U.S. policy approach required now is the opposite of what is
currently being debated in Washington.

2. Support the whole continent: President Bush's "Emergency
Plan" to fight HIV/AIDS in Africa and the Caribbean only includes 12
African countries. This selective U.S. approach not only ignores the
rest of the African continent, which is also being devastated by the
HIV/AIDS pandemic; it also precludes the more coherent and
comprehensive response required to defeat this public health crisis.
U.S. initiatives to fight AIDS in Africa should cover all 54 African
countries. This will require a major increase over the limited, and
inadequate, funding included in the current 12-country plan.

3. Fully fund the Global Fund: The Global Fund to fight AIDS,
Tuberculosis and Malaria is the most crucial international vehicle to
support poor countries' efforts to fight the pandemic. Since 2002,
Global Fund grants have been helping African countries to
strengthen local public health infrastructure and to dramatically
scale up efforts to prevent and treat these deadly diseases. Since
its inception, the Global Fund has been forced to constrict its
projections due to the absence of adequate funding from wealthy
countries. Even at a minimal level of operation, the Global Fund still
needs at least $1.56 billion for 2004 and $3.58 billion for 2005 in
order to fund effective HIV/AIDS programs in Africa and globally.
The U.S. should provide its fair share of at least one-third of this
funding.

4. Treatment for All, not just for half: The World Health
Organization (WHO) estimates that 6 million people living with
HIV/AIDS in poor countries need immediate antiretroviral treatment.
At the moment, less than 8% have access to this treatment - and in
Africa, less than 2% of those in need have access to essential
treatment. On World AIDS Day 2003, the WHO unveiled a global
plan called the "3 by 5" initiative to provide antiretroviral treatment by
2005 to half of the 6 million people in poor countries who need it and
will die without it. As of early 2004, there was still a funding shortfall
of $5.5 billion over current contributions to reach that limited target.
Reaching all of the 6 million people who need antiretroviral
treatment is the only ethical goal and should be the urgent priority.
This will cost at least twice as much. The U.S. should provide at
least one-third of this funding.

5. Fully fund prevention that works: It is estimated that only 6% of
people in Africa have access to voluntary counseling and testing,
and that fewer than one-third of African youth have access to
prevention programs. There is an urgent need for youth-focused
prevention initiatives and for education programs that target
vulnerable groups in African countries. At present, prevention
education programs reach fewer than 1 in 12 sex workers and their
clients. UNAIDS estimates that, by 2005, more than $1.5 billion will
be needed annually to bring prevention programs to scale in Africa.
The U.S. should ensure that at least this amount is made available
for essential prevention programs. It should drop its insistence on
an abstinence- only approach, which is a wrong-headed and
ideologically driven priority that places fundamentalism over science
and public health.

6. Protect the health of mothers and children: Sub-Saharan Africa
accounts for about 90% of the 800,000 babies worldwide who
acquire HIV each year. Prevention of Mother-to-Child transmission
of HIV is an urgent need in African countries. A package of medical
interventions can reduce by 50% or more the risk of transmission of
HIV from mothers to their babies, but at present only 1% of pregnant
African women who need them have access to such prevention
measures. The U.S. should ensure sufficient funding for mother-to-
child transmission prevention programs to meet the need in African
countries. It should also ensure that HIV- positive mothers have
access to essential treatment that can save their own lives and
enable them to take care of their children.

7. Infrastructure - the most important investment: Turning the tide
on AIDS in Africa requires addressing the limitations in public health
infrastructure, eroded by years of World Bank and IMF structural
adjustment programs. It also requires addressing the continent's
broader health crisis. The WHO Commission on Macroeconomics
and Health reported in 2001 that a major increase in donor support
was necessary to reduce the high mortality rates in poor countries
and control diseases such as HIV/AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis.
The report estimated that donor support should be at least $27
billion per year by 2007. It stated that Africa should receive the
largest proportion of this because e of its poverty and disease
prevalence. In this context, the U.S. should prioritize upfront
investment to help rehabilitate Africa's public health care
infrastructure. Arguments about Africa's lack of "absorptive
capacity" are largely false, as even countries' existing capacities for
treatment programs are being under-utilized. Moreover, funding
itself will create capacity, which is usually a principal objective of any
such program start-up.

8. Meet the Commitment to the Millennium Development Goals: In
recent years, the Bush Administration has cut funding for child
survival programs and for humanitarian and development
assistance for African countries. Its implementation of the Global
Gag Rule has forced the scaling back of health clinics and caused
cutbacks in reproductive health services throughout Africa. These
U.S. policies undermine African efforts to address the HIV/AIDS
crisis and other health issues. All U.S. foreign assistance programs
that impact public health in Africa should be funded to the
maximum. The U.S. has committed to the Millennium Development
Goals, which aim to reduce poverty, defeat HIV/AIDS and promote
health in the world's poorest regions. The Bush Administration's
new Millennium Challenge Account fails as a model to support
human development in Africa. The U.S. should be willing to spend
its fair share of the $40-$70 billion in additional assistance per year
that is needed to meet these goals.

9. Meet the need for funding, at home and abroad: The United
States spends more than $15 billion annually to combat AIDS
domestically, where about 900,000 people are living with the
disease. While domestic funding levels remain inadequate, and
many people in this country - especially in communities of color -
lack access to essential treatment and care, international funding
levels are clearly also inadequate. The U.S. spends less than one-
fifth of this amount to fight HIV/AIDS globally, and only a fraction of
this in Africa, where almost 30 million people are living with the
disease out of a worldwide total of 42 million. As it has become
clear that the AIDS crisis in the U.S. disproportionately impacts
African-American communities, funding for programs desperately
needed by these communities has failed to keep up with the need.
At the international level, the U.S. has consistently failed to commit
its fair share of funding to fight HIV/AIDS in Africa. It should now
provide at least the $15 billion promised to Africa to meet this urgent
and growing crisis.

10. Focus on the real priority - AIDS is the greatest threat to human
security: In his 2005 budget request, President Bush asked
Congress for $400 billion for military defense. The Administration
plans to spend $2.2 trillion on the military over the next five years,
and is currently spending $4 billion per month in Iraq. While
members of the Bush Administration have said that AIDS is a
greater threat than terrorism, U.S. funding to fight HIV/AIDS remains
completely inadequate. This reveals the skewed priorities of the
Bush White House, as far as combating global threats is concerned.
The United Nations states that, even with recent increases in global
health spending, the world is not on track to provide even a minimal
response to AIDS. The U.S. should be prepared to spend at least
$15 billion now on a war against AIDS, which represents the truly
greatest threat to human security in the world today.

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