U.S. AIDS Funding Must Help Children Affected by Epidemic, Opinion Piece Says
While President Bush's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief "goes a long way toward addressing the crisis in Africa," the severity of the plight of AIDS orphans should make the United States ask, "Can't we do more?" Rev. Tony Morris, pastor of the New Covenant Christian Church in Seattle, writes in a Seattle Post-Intelligencer opinion piece (Morris, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 5/21). The House on Wednesday sent to Bush the final version of an international HIV/AIDS bill (HR 1298) that would authorize $15 billion over five years to fight AIDS in Africa and the Caribbean (Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, 5/22). The president's plan is "bold," but Congress must be "equally bold" in appropriating money to fund the plan, Morris says, adding that Congress must ensure that it appropriates the money with a "clear focus on orphans and vulnerable children." Congress should answer the call of the Hope for African Children Initiative, which has asked that $300 million, or 10% of the proposed $3 billion for fiscal year 2004, be allocated to help AIDS-affected children, Morris states. The funding would help provide food, education, health care "and hope" to children affected by the epidemic, Morris concludes (Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 5/21).
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