The fight against AIDS owes much to President George W. Bush's global initiative, UNAIDS chief Peter Piot said Saturday. "You know, they don't like to hear this in Europe, but actually we owe a lot to [Bush]," Piot told the Belgian daily De Morgen. "In his 2003 State of the Union he promised $15 billion for fighting AIDS in the developing countries. And what is at least as important, the funds were effectively wired," said Piot. Critics charge that Bush's effort competes with the underfunded Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria. But Piot said the $15 billion had completely overhauled UNAIDS' financial position, even though the U.S. money is dependent on a number of conditions, such as focusing on 15 countries that account for 70 percent of the world's HIV/AIDS cases.

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