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HEALTHWATCH

HIV/AIDS

International AIDS Initiative

In 2003, President George W. Bush, with support strong bipartisan support in Congress, passed an historic new initiative to battle the international AIDS crisis. This five-year $15 billion plan is a coordinated U.S. strategy for responding to the global AIDS pandemic.

The President's International AIDS Initiative must be adequately funded and it must be made to work. The lives of millions in Africa and the Caribbean depend on the success of this bold initiative. Furthermore, our national prestige and reputation as a caring people is at stake if we fail to fulfill our moral duty for action. The method of implementation is just as important as funding. Successful and quick implementation must be achieved.

AIDS has touched communities in every region and on every continent of our world. Based on current estimates, 40 million people were living with HIV or AIDS worldwide at the end of 2003. Analysts predict that by 2010, there could be as many as 110 million cases of HIV in Africa and Asia alone. While the disease has largely spared some places like Australia, with its infection rate around 0.1 percent, it has devastated countries in sub-Saharan Africa. The sub-Saharan nation of Swaziland, with its infection rate of 38.6 percent, has the unfortunate distinction of being the most infected nation in the world. Zimbabwe and Botswana also suffer infection rates over 30 percent, and several other sub-Saharan nations have rates over 20 percent.

With such high infection rates, several African nations are on the verge of collapse. AIDS deaths are robbing African nations of their labor pool and throwing their economies into turmoil. Millions are starving, and millions more live in deplorable conditions. In addition, millions of African children have lost one or both parents to AIDS, leaving them to fend for themselves. Many are starving and are susceptible to physical and sexual abuse. Left unnoticed, such desperate surroundings could develop into fertile ground for international terrorist groups like Al Qaeda. This danger underscores the need for meaningful AIDS relief from the international community.

The Bush Administration's 2003 international AIDS package will infuse over $15 billion over the next five years to help win the global fight against this disease. It will try to ease the crisis in AIDS-ravaged Africa and in the Caribbean, a region seeing significant increases in its infection rates. Specifically, the package offers help with drug treatment programs (55 percent), prevention programs (20 percent), treatments to ease the symptoms of the disease (15 percent), and care for children orphaned by AIDS (10 percent).
In responding to the international AIDS crisis, some AIDS advocates want "least developed countries" to be exempted from intellectual property protections. We support a different approach‹relying on a partnership between the government and the private sector. Such a partnership would be similar to the successful model developed for AIDS Drug Assistance Programs, with the government providing assistance to end users and support to industry.

Adequate patent protection is vital for creating an environment that encourages pharmaceutical companies to continue developing innovative, life-saving medication. Allowing nations to cheat, even for a seemingly noble reason, undermines the power of the private sector to solve problems. Watering down intellectual property rights (IP) will not solve the underlying issues in developing countries. Violating IP will not magically create additional medical supervision, health facilities, or other infrastructure.

Seeking solutions to the AIDS pandemic worldwide, particularly in those areas hardest hit by the disease, is a matter of great national importance. As Rep. Henry Hyde (R-IL), chairman of the House International Relations Committee, observed, "Everyone has a stake in what tragically could be the plague of the 21st century, and we must meet this test by reaching out now to those most in need. It is the right thing to do for our children, our country, and our world." The pandemic and the horrible conditions it has caused in places like Africa have created conditions unnervingly ripe for exploitation by terrorist groups.

The Bush Administration's 2003 international AIDS package is a good start in addressing the worldwide problems that HIV/AIDS is causing. Other developed nations also must join this fight. Plus, those countries hardest hit by this disease must do more to educate their citizens about preventing further spread of HIV. Maintaining patent protection to facilitate the development of new, more powerful HIV drugs is another important step in this fight. We must remain ever vigilant as we struggle to combat this far-reaching pandemic. Winning this battle will take a coordinated global strategy with years of dedication costing tens of billions of dollars. The difficult challenge we face should not deter us from fulfilling our moral duty to do all that we can in response to this deadly crisis.