Action Alert: Global AIDS FundingAugust 24, 2001 A note from TheBody.com: The field of medicine is constantly evolving. As a result, parts of this article may be outdated. Please keep this in mind, and be sure to visit other parts of our site for more recent information! It is especially important now for U.S. citizens to let their two Senators know they are concerned about funding to control AIDS and other infectious diseases around the world. The Democrats have been worse on this issue than the Republicans -- not because they are opposed, but because they do not think people care. Calls before Labor Day are most important. But it never hurts to let Congress know that their constituents care about AIDS in Africa and elsewhere, and infectious diseases everywhere.
BackgroundAn August 20 alert from the Treatment Action Network of Project Inform summarizes the situation:"On April 26th, 2001, United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan launched the 'Global AIDS and Health Fund'. This international fund is intended to treat and prevent HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria for those without access to medicine, health care, and prevention programs. "This spring, President Bush pledged a $200 million contribution to this fund. While a small step forward, this amount falls well short of the $2 billion asked of the United States and lowered the bar for other contributors. Major donors have scaled back their contributions and the momentum has slowed. Advocates have turned to Congress to increase this pledge. "Constituent pressure is essential to ensure that elected officials make the global AIDS crisis a priority. If everyone who cares about the international AIDS epidemic meets with, calls, or writes a letter to their Senators this month, we could have a major impact in focusing their attention on this issue. Please take a few minutes to respond to this alert! . . . "You can find contact information for your two U.S. Senators by accessing their individual Web sites through the main U.S. Senate website. Go to http://www.senate.gov, then click 'List Senators By State.' You'll find links to both of your Senators underneath your state. Each Web site will have Washington and district phone, fax, and mailing addresses." Notes
Copyright 2001 by John S. James. Permission granted for noncommercial reproduction, provided that our address and phone number are included if more than short quotations are used.
A note from TheBody.com: The field of medicine is constantly evolving. As a result, parts of this article may be outdated. Please keep this in mind, and be sure to visit other parts of our site for more recent information! ![]()
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