Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report Summarizes Editorials on 2004 UNAIDS Report of Global AIDS Epidemic

• Bangkok Post: The "bleak" status of the AIDS epidemic as reported by UNAIDS shows the "urgent need" for public education programs and greater access to treatment and care for people living with HIV/AIDS, a Post editorial says. The AIDS epidemic is "not just a problem for developing countries," but "a global problem, with worldwide implications, which needs the cooperation of both rich and poor countries," the editorial says (Bangkok Post, 7/8).
  
  
• Denver Post: The "staggering" figures in the UNAIDS report show that HIV "continues to outpace the global efforts to contain and control it," a Post editorial says. Therefore, the United States should increase the percentage of AIDS funding going to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, which "lacks government's tangling bureaucracy but still has appropriate outside checks on how money is spent," and should "challeng[e] the rest of the world to chip in too," the editorial concludes (Denver Post, 7/7).
  
  
• Des Moines Register: Although the United States "seemed ... on track to do its part" in fighting AIDS, President Bush has not requested enough funding for the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief and has cut funding for scientists to attend the XV International AIDS Conference, a Register editorial says. "Entire countries are dying" and it will "take the world to stop this plague," the editorial says, concluding that the United States should "lead the effort" (Des Moines Register, 7/7).
  
  
• Globe and Mail: The HIV/AIDS epidemic is "outstripping efforts to contain it," and Western nations should provide more financial resources to prevention and treatment measures worldwide, a Globe and Mail editorial says. The editorial says that pharmaceutical companies should improve access to antiretroviral drugs in developing countries. The Globe and Mail concludes that the only long-term solutions are education and contraception (Globe and Mail, 7/8).
  
  
• Guardian: Although some wealthy nations have contributed to the funding needed to combat HIV/AIDS worldwide, there "is much to be done, and the rich must, and can, do a lot more," including ending the "poaching" of qualified doctors and nurses from developing countries as well as offering financial resources, a London Guardian editorial says, (Guardian, 7/8).
  
  
• Indianapolis Star: The United States must "lead the fight to halt the spread of the global AIDS epidemic," including providing resources not only for HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment but also education, nutrition and medical care in the developing world, a Star editorial says. It is "essential" that the Bush administration "fully keep its pledge for funding," the editorial says, because "[a]nything less could lead to a global disaster" (Indianapolis Star, 7/8).
  
  
• Independent: The "feminization of AIDS," which is the "most striking conclusion" in the UNAIDS report, demands a "feminist political response," including increased efforts to protect women's property and inheritance rights, reduce violence against women and improve their educational opportunities, a London Independent editorial says (Independent, 7/7).
  
  
• New Orleans Times-Picayune: It will be "almost impossible for medical treatment to catch up" to the HIV/AIDS epidemic, unless effective prevention campaigns -- including condom promotion -- are implemented in all countries, a Times-Picayune editorial says. Some "simple solution[s]," combined with larger global initiatives might make it "possible to slow the spread of the disease," the editorial concludes (New Orleans Times-Picayune, 7/8).
  
  
• Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Given the "magnitude of the [HIV/AIDS] crisis" worldwide, the $15 billion President Bush has allocated for AIDS relief is "only a start" toward combating the epidemic, a Democrat and Chronicle editorial says. Amid the increasing number of HIV infections and the rising costs of treatment and global initiatives, current U.S. funding is "insufficient" and "inadequate to cope with the crisis," the editorial says (Democrat and Chronicle, 7/8).
  
  
• Seattle Post-Intelligencer: "Like all wars," the war against AIDS has had some successes, but the "grim body counts" in the UNAIDS report show that such efforts have "not been enough" to stop the epidemic, a Post-Intelligencer editorial says. Although the World Health Organization's goal of having three million people on antiretroviral drugs by 2005 is "promising," it needs "full funding from rich nations and leadership from low- and middle-income nations," in order to succeed, the Post-Intelligencer concludes (Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 7/6).
  
  
• Washington Post: The global response to AIDS has "grown remarkably" with the creation of initiatives such as the Global Fund and PEPFAR, the increasingly lower cost of antiretroviral drugs and the cooperation of political leaders, a Post editorial says. The response, however, "still falls short of what is needed" in terms of funding, quality of care, access to treatment and the elimination of stigma and discrimination, the editorial says (Washington Post, 7/8).