Global AIDS Bill Puts Pressure on Other G8 Countries To Increase Funding, Washington Times Editorial Says
The pressure that the United States' new commitment to HIV/AIDS will place on other G8 countries is "precisely" what makes the measure "so detestable to a wealthy few -- and so welcomed by a suffering multitude," a Washington Times editorial says (Washington Times, 5/29). President Bush on Tuesday in a ceremony at the State Department signed into law a bill (HR 1298) that authorizes $15 billion over five years to fight AIDS in Africa and the Caribbean (Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, 5/28). In addition, the bill would authorize up to $1 billion in fiscal year 2004 for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, but the amount actually appropriated is contingent upon the contributions of other countries. Under the measure, the United States can contribute up to $1 billion to the fund but only if that amount totals no more than one-third of the fund's total contributions. Therefore, in order for the total $1 billion to be appropriated, other nations must contribute more money (Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, 5/27). Some critics of the plan have said that the measure is too unilateral in nature, while others have said that it is "geared at neutralizing anti-American sentiment in the wake of the Iraq war," the editorial says. However, such criticism likely stems from the pressure that the plan will exert on other G8 nations to "increase their generosity" for HIV/AIDS programs, according to the editorial (Washington Times, 5/29). Bush on Tuesday said that he would urge other nations to contribute to the fight against HIV/AIDS during the G8 summit that begins on Sunday in Evian, France (Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, 5/28).
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