08.STOP.AIDS: A Plan to Stop Global AIDS

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More than 40 million are living with HIV worldwide, and each year more than three million people die from AIDS. By 2010, there will be as many as 20 million children orphaned by AIDS. The infection rates in some impoverished countries are greater than 33%, and the impact of AIDS poses a major humanitarian challenge to the United States. Within the United States, HIV/AIDS is disproportionately affecting people of color, and prevention and treatment are still underfunded; strong leadership is needed to defeat the epidemic. Global health diplomacy provides one key opportunity to renew internationally our ties to the world community. America's place in history will be determined by how well we respond to this still-expanding crisis at home and abroad.

To address HIV/AIDS and the factors underlying the epidemic, the undersigned organizations1 urge the President of the United States and other US political leaders to:

1. Keep the promise of universal access to prevention, care and treatment2 by providing at least $50 billion by 2013 for the fight against HIV/AIDS,3 including at least doubling the number on treatment supported by the US to four million (one-third of the people estimated by UNAIDS to be in immediate need of medicine to survive), and contributing the US fair-share of the budget of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GFATM);4

2. Fund these HIV/AIDS programs as part of a commitment to direct at least an additional one percent of the US budget toward meeting basic needs and fighting poverty in impoverished countries;5

3. Invest new resources to strengthen public health systems and to train and retain the numbers of health workers needed to meet and sustain international health goals the US has committed to by 2015 and achieve minimum health workforce densities of 2.3 doctors and nurses per thousand residents in selected countries.6 This investment should be accompanied by new policies to address brain drain by expanding health training in the US7 and by discouraging active recruitment from impoverished countries;

4. Support trade policies that protect and expand poor countries' right to affordable, quality-assured generic drugs8 for important health needs. Adopt humanitarian licensing policies that ensure drugs developed with taxpayer resources are available off-patent in developing countries;

5. Implement comprehensive, integrated and evidence-based prevention policies that explicitly address the needs of all at-risk populations, including funding and technical support for universal access to male and female condoms, voluntary male circumcision, HPV vaccinations and prevention equipment and treatment for injection drug users as well as new expanded research on effective microbicides and vaccines. Integrate sexual and reproductive health services with AIDS programs;

6. Meet the needs of children orphaned and made vulnerable by AIDS through community-based support, including ensuring children a loving permanent home, food to nourish them, free public schools, laws and systems in place that protect them, access to medical care and training programs to learn how to make a living as adult;

7. Promote the political and economic empowerment of women and girls by securing property and inheritance rights, access to universal education, and freedom from violence;

8. Drop 100% of the debt of 67 of the most impoverished countries, while removing harmful conditions that delay relief, and reform policies that deny access and limit poor countries' investments in health and education, including public sector salary caps, user fees and other policies barriers to access;

9. Fight tuberculosis and malaria as part of a comprehensive plan to combat HIV/AIDS. The US must work to achieve targets agreed by G8 leaders to reduce tuberculosis deaths and prevalence by 50% and reduce the malaria-related disease by 50% by 2010;9

10. Create an independent poverty-focused cabinet-level agency to ensure that poverty alleviation at home and abroad is as much a priority as defense or diplomacy. This agency would prioritize investments to reduce suffering in the most impoverished nations and communities, coordinating efforts between developing countries, local governments, other donors and multilateral institutions.

REFERENCES:

1 To endorse this community platform, please send the name and country of your organization to 08.stop.aids@gmail.com.
2 US pledged (with other countries) at 2005 G8 Summit to support universal access to prevention, care and treatment for all people with AIDS by 2010. This was affirmed by the US and all UN member states at the 2006 UN General Assembly Special Session on HIV/AIDS.
3 This sum is required to continue the US fair-share of supporting treatment for at least 33% of those in clinical need, and includes continuing existing bilateral programs ($28 billion for PEPFAR focus countries; $6 billion for non-focus countries, of which 10% is already earmarked for a broad set of programs to help orphans and vulnerable children); $8 billion for the US share of the budget of the GFATM; and $8 billion in new support for health workers and health systems strengthening required before even current investments can succeed. This total amount is a minimal contribution, and is less than a fair-share towards the worldwide UNAIDS cost estimates. The White House requested $5.76 billion for global AIDS, TB, and malaria programs in FY 08—the fourth year of a five-year AIDS initiative (SOURCE: President Bush's FY2008 Budget Request, DATA.org, February 5, 2008), and Congress is on track to approve over $6 billion for FY08. The current Administration proposal to contribute only $30 billion and treat only 2.5 million represents a reduction of effort and a devastating cut in the percentage of people with AIDS in need who will receive treatment.
4 The US and all other board members agreed at the May 2007 GFATM board meeting to a Fund target size of $6-8 billion by 2010.
5 Currently, less than 1% of the US budget goes toward humanitarian assistance.
6 World Health Organization, World Health Report 2006 (2006), at 11-12. In addition to doctors, nurses, midwives, and health workers with similar skills such as clinical officers, the 2.3 figure does not include the range of other necessary health workers including pharmacists, laboratory technicians, mental health workers, community health workers, and critical management, administrative, and other support staff.
7 Experts estimate needed annual increase of US medical graduates by at least 5,000 and nursing graduates by at least 25,000 over next 10-15 years.
8 Drug quality assured at country request by either WHO's internationally recognized Drug Prequalification Program or by other government-sponsored drug regulatory authority recognized as suitably rigorous.
9 G8 Communiqué, Okinawa Summit, July 23, 2000.

The undersigned organizations urge the President and US political leaders to implement these recommendations:

15% Now Campaign, Int'l
ACORD, Agency for Cooperation and Research in Development, Kenya/Int'l
ACT UP New York, NY
ACT UP Philadelphia, PA
ActionAid International USA
Action AIDS, PA
Advocates for Youth, USA
Africa Action, USA
Africa Public Health Rights Alliance, Nigeria and UK
African Child Peace Initiative, Liberia
African Services Committee, Int'l
Agua Buena Human Rights Association, Costa Rica
Aid for AIDS Society, Nigeria
AID-HAITI, Haiti
AIDS Action Council, USA
AIDS Foundation of Chicago, IL
AIDS Project of Central Iowa, IA
AIDS Network, WI
AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition (AVAC), USA
AIDS Project Los Angeles, CA
All-Ukrainian Network of PLWHA, Ukraine
American Jewish World Service, USA
American Medical Student Association (AMSA), USA
American Public Health Association, International Health Section, USA
Association for Community Health Awareness & Action (AFCHAA), India
Association for STDs, Poverty Alleviation and Computer Literacy Assistance (ASPCLA), Cameroon
Association of Nutrition Services Agencies, USA
BIENESTAR, CA
British Columbia Persons With AIDS Society (BCPWA), Canada
Bolivian Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS (REDBOL), Bolivia
Camp Heartland, USA
Campaign to End AIDS, USA
Canadian Treatment Action Council (CTAC), Canada
Capitalize on Community, NY
Career Builders Initiative, Nigeria
Center for Health and Gender Equity (CHANGE), USA
Coalition for Health Promotion and Social Development (HEPS), Uganda
Coalition of Asia Pacific Regional Networks on HIV/AIDS-The 7 Sisters, Thailand
Community HIV/AIDS Mobilization Project (CHAMP), USA
Community HIV/Hepatitis Advocates of Iowa Network (CHAIN), IA
Community Working Group on Health, Zimbabwe
Constituency for Africa (CFA), USA
DC Fights Back, DC
Dominican Sisters of Hope, NY
Eastern European and Central Asian Union of PLWHA Organizations, Int'l
Edmundite Center for Peace and Justice, USA
END AIDS NOW! Int'l
Equal-Equal, Kazakhstan
European AIDS Treatment Group (EATG), Int'l
Foundation for Integrative AIDS Research (FIAR), NY
Friends of the Global Fund in Africa, Int'l
Gays and Lesbians of Zimbabwe (GALZ)
Gay Men's Health Crisis, NY
GAYa NUSANTARA, Indonesia
Gender Action, USA
Ghana AIDS Treatment Access Group (GATAG), Ghana
Girls to Mothers Initiative (G2Mi), Nigeria
Global Action for Children, USA
Global AIDS Alliance, USA
Global Campaign for Microbicides, Int'l
Global Camps Africa, USA
Global Justice, USA
Global Justice Ministry, Metropolitan Community Churches, NY
Global Network of People living with HIV/AIDS (GNP+), North America
Global Youth Coalition on HIV/AIDS (GYCA), Int'l
GUAHAN Project (Guam HIV/AIDS Network Project), Guam
Health GAP (Global Access Project), USA
HIVictorious, Inc., WI
Harvard AIDS Coalition, MA
Health Alliance International
Holy Cross International Justice Office, Int'l
Housing Works, NY
Israel AIDS Task Force, Israel
In This Together New Orleans, LA
Interfaith Center for Corporate Responsibility, USA
Institute for the Study of Civic Values, PA
International Association of Physicians in AIDS Care, Int'l
International Community of Women Living with HIV/AIDS (ICW), Int'l
International Community of Women Living with HIV/AIDS, Namibia
International Network of Religious Leaders Living with or Personally Affected by HIV and AIDS (INERELA+), Int'l
Intersect Worldwide, Int'l
Jesse M. Rohde Foundation, Int'l
Japan Network on Debt & Poverty (DebtNet), Japan
Japanese Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS, Japan
Jubilee USA
Junior Chamber Int'l, Nigeria
KAIPPG International, USA and Kenya
Kitgum District Forum of People living with HIV/AIDS Network, Uganda
Knowledge Ecology International, Int'l
LifeGuard, IA
Live Alive Foundation, Nigeria
Mercy Investment Program, USA
Methodists Church of The Gambia
Minnesota AIDS Project, MN
Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate, Justice Peace/Integrity of Creation Office, USA
Mothers Acting Up, USA
Musaada Association, Kyrgyzstan
Muthaa Community Development Foundation, Kenya
National Association of People with AIDS, USA
National MSM & HIV, Policy Advocacy and Human Rights Task Force, India
National Physicians Alliance (NPA), USA
Naya Goreto, Nepal
NCW+ (Community of Women Living with HIV/AIDS in Nigeria)
NETWORK, A National Catholic Social Justice Lobby, USA
Network of Zimbabwean Positive Women (NZPW+), Zimbabwe
New York Buyers' Club (NYBC), NY
Ohio AIDS Coalition, OH
Patients not Patents, USA
Partners In Health, Int'l
Penn Action, PA
PETCOM Integrated Training Consult, Nigeria
Physicians for Human Rights, USA
Positive Iowans Taking Charge (PITCH), IA
Positive Malaysian Treatment Access and Advocacy Group (MTAAG+), Malaysia
Presbyterian Church USA, Washington Office, USA
Priority Africa Network, CA
Q-Club, Serbia
Raks Thai Foundation, Thailand
Red Argentina de Mujeres Viviendo con VIH/SIDA, Argentina
Red Argentina de Personas Viviendo con VIH/SIDA, Argentina
Redemption Health Foundation for Sustainable Rural Development and Conservation, Cameroon
Union for Reform Judaism, USA
RESULTS, USA
Search For A Cure, MA
Sensibilisation de Proximité Pour les Jeunes et Par les Jeunes (SPPJ), Cameroon
Share International, USA
Sisters of the Holy Cross, Congregation Justice Committee, IN
Sisters of Mercy, Regional Community of Detroit, MI
Situational Ministries Uganda
Social AIDS Committee (SKA), Poland
Society for Adolescents & Youth Int'l (SAYHI), Nigeria
Solidarité Enfants Sida, Somaliland HIV/AIDS Network (SAHA), Somalia/Rep. of Somaliland
Somaliland National AIDS Commission (SOLNAC), Somalia/Rep. of Somaliland
South Carolina Campaign to End AIDS (SC-C2EA), SC
Southern African Treatment Access Movement (SATAMO), Int'l
Special Audiences, NJ
Stop AIDS Campaign, UK
Stop the Silence, MD
Street Works, TN
Students and Youth Working on Reproductive Health Action Team (SAYWHAT), Zimbabwe
Students for Education, Empowerment and Development (SEED), Canada
Student Global AIDS Campaign, USA
Student World AIDS Group, KS
Students Partnership Worldwide (SPW), Zambia
Trinity Charities, FL
The AIDS Institute, USA
Uganda Child Rights NGO Network (UCRNN), Uganda
Uganda Children Burden Center, Uganda
Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations, USA
Universities Allied for Essential Medicine, USA
University Coalitions for Global Health, USA
Ursuline Sisters of Tildonk-U.S. Province, USA
VSO - Voluntary Service Overseas, Int'l
Washington Office on Africa , USA
Women's Center/Children's Center, NY
Women's Equity in Access to Care and Treatment (WE-ACTx), Int'l
Women Rehabilitation and Development Association (WORDA), Somalia/ Rep. of Somaliland
WORLD (Women Organized to Respond to Life-threatening Diseases), CA
Youth Action Forum for Networking (YAFNet), Kenya
Youth Agenda Consortium, Kenya
Zimbabwe Activists on HIV/AIDS (ZAHA), Zimbabwe

Prestigious experts and community leaders:

Allan Rosenfield, MD, Dean, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University
Fitzhugh Mullan, MD, Murdock Head Professor of Medicine and Health Policy, George Washington University
Josh Ruxin, Assistant Clinical Professor of Public Health, Columbia University, Director, Millennium Villages Project Rwanda and The Access Project
His Eminence Seraphim Kykkotis, Greek Orthodox Archbishop, Johannesburg and Pretoria, South Africa, Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria and All Africa
Stanley O. Foster MD, MPH, Professor of Global Health, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University
Dr Francoise Ndayishimiye, Secretetaire Executif Permanent du CNLS, Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria Board Member, Communities Delegation
Rev. Mpho Tutu, Board Chair, Global AIDS Alliance, USA
Philip L. Hougen, Bishop, Southeastern Iowa Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
Daryl Beall, Iowa State Senator, Senate District 25, Fort Dodge, IA
Joe Bolkcom, Iowa State Senator, Senate District 39, Iowa City, IA
Ro Foege, Iowa State Representative, Chair, Health and Human Services Subcommittee of House Appropriations Committee, House District 29, Mt. Vernon, IA
Dave Jacoby, Iowa State Representative, House District 30, Coralville, IA
Mary Mascher, Iowa State Representative, House District 77, Iowa City, IA
Matt McCoy, Iowa State Senator, Senate District 31, Des Moines, IA
Becky Schmitz, Iowa State Senator, Vice Chair, Senate Human Resources Committee, Senate District 45, Fairfield, IA

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