Dec. 1, World AIDS Day, is quickly approaching. What better time for the Bush administration to fulfill its first-term promise to fund the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria? Instead, the administration threatens to cut some $69 million because other countries haven’t matched U.S. pledges by an arbitrary September date. This is yet another shining example of the current administration’s “do it our way or else” attitude. Unfortunately, the consequences of such action would make it impossible to treat 25,000 people and prevent 100,000 new cases of AIDS around the world through Global Fund programs. Congress has already appropriated $547 million for the Global Fund, yet the Bush administration is deliberately poised to hold back resources.
The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria was created to dramatically increase resources to fight three of the world’s most deadly diseases, and to direct those resources to areas of greatest need. This is truly a global community fight against these diseases, a fight for which we as brothers and sisters must remain vigilant.
By approving at least $550 million to the Global Fund, the Bush administration could renew our country’s commitment to those in dire health conditions. Now that is a value worth fighting for!
Teresa Rugg
Snohomish
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