Clinton to Launch Initiative to Address HIV/AIDS, Other Global Issues

Former President Clinton next month will launch the Clinton Global Initiative, which aims to fight global problems such as HIV/AIDS and poverty, VOA News reports. The initiative will gather world leaders, politicians, business leaders and celebrities at annual meetings, where they will focus on three or four issues in depth and commit to taking concrete action on the issues during the following year, Clinton said. "If we could do this every year for a decade, we could really make a difference," he said, adding, "I am doing this because I was always interested in AIDS and always interested in Africa and interested in Latin America and the developing world." The first Clinton Global Initiative meeting is scheduled for Sept. 15-17 in New York City and will focus on poverty, corruption, climate change, and religious and ethnic reconciliation. Attendees are expected to include British Prime Minister Tony Blair, King Abdullah of Jordan, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan and California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) (Motta, VOA News, 8/1). Clinton last month took a six-nation tour of Africa, where he visited Rwanda, Kenya, Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania and Lesotho to promote the efforts of the Clinton Foundation, which aims to provide antiretroviral treatment to 10,000 HIV-positive children worldwide by the end of this year (Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, 7/25).

Back to other news for August 3, 2005