April 29, 2003

Thank You, President Bush, for Leadership in Global HIV/AIDS

(Washington, DC) In the East Room of the White House this afternoon, President Bush firmly articulated his support for the proposed legislation H.R. 1298 (or the U.S. Leadership Against HIV/AIDS Act of 2003) which, if passed, would authorize $3 billion a year for his Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, including $1 billion for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria.

“President Bush has both demonstrated leadership in the greatly needed response to HIV and worked to gain a better understanding of the root causes of the greatest health crisis in modern times—even in the face of mounting political pressure to do otherwise,” commented AIDS Action Executive Director Dr. Marsha Martin, who attended the ceremony. She continued, “Even when the president has been challenged by some leaders in Congress to do something else, he has taken the higher ground.” In its current form, H.R. 1298 represents a comprehensive strategy for addressing the Global epidemic. President Bush endorses the legislation as appropriate for the vision of his initiative.

At the same time that AIDS Action applauds President Bush’s commitment to responding to HIV/AIDS at home and around the globe—and invites Congress to follow his lead and sign a bill that is based on the best of public health science, not political ideology—we are wary of attempts by some members of Congress to narrow the scope of the Emergency Plan to one specific HIV prevention strategy. The strategy is commonly known as the “ABC” (Abstinence until marriage; Be faithful in marriage; and Condom use as last resort) or “Ugandan” model, which has its origins in the World Health Organization’s (WHO) scientifically-proven model for the prevention of sexually transmitted HIV. Although the differences between these two may seem insignificant to some, they could be the difference between life and death for millions. AIDS Action therefore calls upon the Congress to pass the legislation as supported by the president and to follow the WHO HIV prevention guidelines (see attached) to improve the bill.

For information on WHO’s HIV prevention recommendations, link to http://www.who.int/hiv/who_hiv_2002_16.pdf and http://www3.who.int/whosis/factsheets_hiv_nurses/index.html

AIDS Action Foundation strives to end the HIV/AIDS epidemic by working for public policies that promote prevention against new infections, provide care for people already living with HIV/AIDS, and support the search for a cure. AIDS Action is the national voice of all people living with HIV, representing community based organizations across the country.