United States, Netherlands Sign Cooperation Agreement to Work on HIV/AIDS Prevention, Treatment in Affected Countries

The United States and the Netherlands yesterday morning at a meeting in Washington, D.C., signed a cooperation agreement as part of the fight against HIV/AIDS, Agence France-Presse reports (Agence France-Presse, 9/3). President Bush and Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende "agreed that progress in fighting the global tragedy of HIV/AIDS requires more and better coordination among donor and recipient governments, international organizations, nongovernmental organizations and the private sector," according to a White House release. The agreement is the first step in a joint initiative in which the two countries will work together on HIV/AIDS prevention, care and treatment in countries in which both have "significant" activities, including countries highlighted in Bush's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, according to the release. The plan is scheduled to start in Rwanda and Ghana and may expand to Zambia, Ethiopia and possibly Sudan, once a peace agreement is signed, according to the release. The agreement will highlight political leadership and public-private partnerships, which are a focus in both the U.S. global AIDS initiative and the Netherlands' 2003 AIDS Action Plan (White House release, 9/3).

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