The American Agenda to Fight HIV/AIDS Globally

"The American Agenda to Fight HIV/AIDS Globally"

Though it might seem an unlikely partnership, rock band U2's lead singer Bono and I have had the great opportunity to work together over the past two years. What has sealed our alliance is a common concern for the fate of the world's most impoverished nations and their struggle to fight pandemic disease and unsustainable debt. In particular, we are both vocal advocates for initiatives to prevent the continued spread of, and provide treatment for, HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria. Through our efforts, as well as those of Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist and President Bush, the United States Senate has agreed to a comprehensive plan that will better fund global programs to do just that. Just this month, in addition to our focus on these illnesses, Congress has also expressed a commitment to ameliorate the social and economic devastation that occurs in Heavily Indebted Poor Countries severely plagued by HIV/AIDS. Bono's involvement and the strength of the Republican leadership's coordinated policy goals in this area are making a difference for millions of people around the world, and the passage of the Global HIV/AIDS Act is our proof.

According to UNAIDS (the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS), infection by the AIDS virus is the fourth-highest cause of death worldwide, and the African continent, home to 10% of the global population, disproportionately suffers from an estimated 70% of all HIV/AIDS cases. More than half of those with HIV/AIDS live within the borders of just 14 African and Caribbean nations. These countries bear the incredible burden of the social deterioration and grief that HIV/AIDS casualties create. For example, sub-Saharan Africans have a lowered average life expectancy of 47 years of age, more than 11 million of their children are orphaned and the probability of losing parents to the disease continues to grow, and the spread of highly contagious illnesses like tuberculosis and malaria becomes greater because of virus-weakened immune systems. Families and communities focus their energy and resources on the expensive medical care that might be available for those who are sick, to the detriment of their own health, education, and well-being. In some countries, more than one in five people carries the HIV/AIDS virus, and in many cases, the role of caretaker falls on the community's most vulnerable - their children.

The fourteen nations most adversely affected by HIV/AIDS also face the financial and political difficulties of affording costly health care programs for their suffering citizens, while also attempting to meet the financial and infrastructure needs of their country. Torn between these responsibilities and with few available funds, countries scourged by illness are literally coming apart. Their workforce is disabled and depleted, and increasing incidence of poverty leaves children, in particular, malnourished and uneducated. Families in these countries are also victims of disease as they are torn apart by death and grow fewer in number. HIV/AIDS is not injuring just one group of Africans, its effects reach all members of the community, especially the next generation of children who are hindered in their development into healthy, happy, productive citizens.

As a nation blessed with opportunity and a strong social safety net, the United States has a responsibility to reach out to less-fortunate countries, just as we help to support our own citizens in times of need. Therefore, the Senate has voted to provide $15 billion in funds to assist underdeveloped countries in combating the spread of HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria. Under this initiative, we are able to support treatment and prevention programs, palliative care efforts, services for orphaned children, and to contribute up to $1 billion to the Global Fund to Fight HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria. The U.S. continues to be the Global Fund's largest underwriter and as a world leader, we have an obligation to provide an example for other nations to follow in contributing to this cause.

This belief has driven my support of a measure that will lessen the overwhelming debt of certain Third-World countries owe to multilateral institutions. Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPCs), specifically those facing severe health crises, have received a substantial gift through the recently passed Global HIV/AIDS Act. The debt relief for these nations included in the bill will greatly reduce HIPC expenditures on debt service so that their funds can be redirected to health care, schools, infrastructure, and development. This will be an enormous boost for governments with economies taxed by sickness and citizens left with little hope.

Moreover, our international assistance for HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria and our efforts to reduce the debt burden on underdeveloped nations will give President Bush something wonderful to share at the upcoming G-8 summit in Evian, France. Hopefully, it will also encourage our partners in the global economy to dedicate their resources to alleviating the suffering caused by HIV/AIDS and assisting developing nations in their financial obligations. In our increasingly interconnected world, it becomes more important that, in addition to commerce and security, compassion be our impetus for reaching out to other countries and other peoples.