EU leaders fail to match U.S. billion dollar pledge for Global AIDS Fund...

[Woodrow]

Props to all giving money for helping fight HIV and AIDS... It's sad that Europe can't contribute the same amount of cash that the USA did.   Any $$$ is good money however so thanks to the Eurpoean contributers.

EU will not match US Aids donation

Press Association
Friday June 20, 2003

Tony Blair conceded today that a European Union donation to help fight Aids, TB and malaria would fall short of the $1bn (£600m) pledged by the United States.
The prime minister had made a joint call with French president Jacques Chirac for the EU to match America's commitment to the UN's Global Health Fund, set up to fight the three killer diseases.

But speaking at the EU summit in Greece, he said the smaller of the 15 existing EU members and 10 countries joining next year were not prepared to commit the money for 2004 because of "budget problems".

Rock stars Bono and Sir Bob Geldof, who are behind Data, an organisation that campaigns on issues affecting Africa, have called for the EU to met the US pledge.

Mr Blair said he "totally agreed" with them, adding: "I would like us to commit to matching the $1bn."

But he said: "We have got 25 countries sitting around the table and the decision has got to be unanimous. We may find that some countries, because of their budget problems, aren't prepared to commit to that.

"Britain's commitment to the Global Health Fund has been increased significantly, and also obviously we've got our own Aids programme, bilateral Aids programme, that amounts to hundreds of millions of pounds a year.

"Our own commitment from Britain is very, very clear, and Britain and France would like the European Union here to commit to matching the US completely with $1bn.

"At least if we keep the door open by saying 'up to a billion dollars', then it's a significant advance on what was actually expected."

Mr Blair and Mr Chirac made their appeal this week in a joint letter to Greek prime minister Costas Simitis, who is chairing the summit at Porto Carras.

They urged the EU to make a "secure and predictable financing basis" for the fund, which aims to make more drugs and other products available for the prevention and treatment of Aids, TB and malaria in the world's poorest countries, mainly in sub-Saharan Africa.

Lucy Matthew, director of Data Europe, said: "Europe's leaders don't want America to dictate the world's agenda, but they're unwilling to pay the price of leadership themselves on this. They can't accept the sheer gravity of the Aids emergency because collectively they don't want to pay the bill.

"Jacques Chirac and Tony Blair have worked hard to force this issue onto the summit agenda, but the cheque is still due. To address the Aids crisis and get the $1bn on offer from the US, the global fund needs at least $1bn from Europe for next year. Europe must come up with this money by the July Aids conference in Paris."


http://politics.guardian.co.uk/eu/story/0,9061,981884,00.html

[Jay ay Beee]

Ok - but don't you think 1 billion is a tiny amount?

Your defence budget is $400 billion.

That won't stop anyone from driving planes into towers.

If the US gave a quarter of its defence budget towards fighting the disease, they'd find a cure in under two years.

[Woodrow]

Ok - but don't you think 1 billion is a tiny amount?

Your defence budget is $400 billion.

That won't stop anyone from driving planes into towers.

If the US gave a quarter of its defence budget towards fighting the disease, they'd find a cure in under two years.

Why are you talking down on the USA when the EU can't even match that amount...

[Don Jacob]

Ok - but don't you think 1 billion is a tiny amount?

Your defence budget is $400 billion.

That won't stop anyone from driving planes into towers.

If the US gave a quarter of its defence budget towards fighting the disease, they'd find a cure in under two years.

that is such an ignorant post jay, do you even know how the viris works? if you did you wouldn't be saying all that,  plus people have been searching for a cure for this since the 80's , a few more dollars isn't going to speed up the discovery of a cure, all the money is doing is keeping all the programs that are trying to find a cure, intact. most of these researches are non profit.....so their only funds come from donations.  A billion bucks just means they are insured that they can study for x  amount more years. the fight for aids is bringing in A LOT of donations , and is probably set for the next 25-maybe the next 40 years .  But again more money doesn't equal a faster way for a cure if this was the case cancer would've been beaten already. More money just means we've lengthened the life of the search.

[mauzip]

Don Jacob Corleone > what jay said was not completely serious...

and ehm... what i think... i think america is spending too much money on propaganda what ain't good for their economy. europe is being more conservative as america and i don't blame europe in that.

[TheSheriff]

*sits in the old house down in Georgia, sighing as the US government considers policing the world is more important than curing the world*

[ITW [the irish boy]]

In fairness...give credit where credit is due. 1bn is a lot better than the nothing that the EU appears to be offering. Thats disgraceful. Well done america. Now lets hope you follow up with more

[Don Rizzle]

america government is jus doing it to look better in the views of the rest of the world.

don't forget america doesn't really care they were pretty much the only country who was against the world wide ban on tobacco advertising.

they decided not to renew their ban on guns like ak47

but its a good thing that every1 is contributing

[Trauma-san]

If we cared about looking better in the eyes of the world, we wouldn't be bombing everybody and their brother.  We're doing it because it's the right thing to do, we could give a FUCK what the rest of the world thinks.  

[Real American]

Billions of dollars to prevent AIDS is so stupid. Everyone in the world knows how the disease is contacted. If someone is still going to go out there and have unprotected sex, what more can you do?

AIDS CAN BE PREVENTED THROUGH PROPER BEHAVOIR!!!!!!!!!!!!

[TheSheriff]

Billions of dollars to prevent AIDS is so stupid. Everyone in the world knows how the disease is contacted. If someone is still going to go out there and have unprotected sex, what more can you do?

AIDS CAN BE PREVENTED THROUGH PROPER BEHAVOIR!!!!!!!!!!!!

Since when did you start making so much sense?

Sadly, you miss the fact that your average African does NOT know, because they have not been educated to know.

Now, if you had said anyone who had been taught about it and still went out and got it (barring condom failures)...well, I'd agree. Their fault.

[Trauma-san]

Yeah, that is a good point.  I say we scrap spending money on it in the 'civilized' countries, and educate people in 3rd world countries.  

[mauzip]

Billions of dollars to prevent AIDS is so stupid. Everyone in the world knows how the disease is contacted. If someone is still going to go out there and have unprotected sex, what more can you do?

AIDS CAN BE PREVENTED THROUGH PROPER BEHAVOIR!!!!!!!!!!!!

think of this: in the united states they hardly educate kids and teenagers about protection and there are never condom commercials on tv...

[Woodrow]

think of this: in the united states they hardly educate kids and teenagers about protection and there are never condom commercials on tv...

Uhhhh, I don't really know where you're from but I see adds about condoms and AIDS nearly every day.

[mauzip]

i lived a year in the US and i've never seen any commercial on tv about condoms or any other kind of protection.