United States Must ‘Honor Its Commitment’ to Global Fund, Editorial Says
The "enormity of the [fight against HIV/AIDS] leaves no room for delays or petty turf battles," therefore the United States should "honor its commitment" to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, a Springfield Republican editorial says (Springfield Republican, 10/16). The Bush administration and the British government this week said that the fund should slow down its spending by delaying a fourth round of grants until next spring. The Bush administration has also said that funding for AIDS initiatives should increase gradually over the next few years because many developing countries lack sufficient infrastructure to absorb large amounts of money (Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, 10/16). This argument is "not only specious, it's arrogant and xenophobic," the editorial says. In addition, it's "even more disturbing" that a senior U.S. health official told the Boston Globe that the Bush administration "may be holding back the release of the funds because it has its nose out of joint over the attention the Global Fund's multilateral effort has garnered at the expense of the Bush administration initiative," the editorial says (Springfield Republican, 10/16).
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