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Higher US funding for India's AIDS programme urged
A US Congressman has urged President George W. Bush to sanction additional funds for India's HIV/AIDS programme.
A US Congressman has urged President George W. Bush to sanction additional funds for India's HIV/AIDS programme.
Congressman Joseph Crowley made the plea in a letter to the president in response to the US allocation of funds to Vietnam as a contribution to the HIV/AIDS situation the country is currently fighting against.
"I believe additional funding should be allocated to India's fight against HIV/AIDS, not only to embrace the opportunity to help stem the disease but also as our responsibility with a strategic partner of that magnitude," said Crowley, a Democrat from New York.
"India is not just one of the many countries that could form the next wave of the HIV/AIDS pandemic, but perhaps the most important. Just from its sheer size and population mobility, the chances for the disease spreading to the general population are great."
India, a country of over a billion people, has 4.5 million HIV/AIDS patients.
"The outcome of India's fight against HIV/AIDS will undoubtedly affect not just its economy, which is one of the fastest growing in the region, but also that of its neighbouring countries. With these economic implications at stake, the need for US assistance should not be questioned," the US lawmaker said.
One of the points stressed in the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief is the importance of treatment. He noted that India is beginning a process that would provide significant treatment, specifically in antiretroviral drugs, to up to 100,000 people, that is 18 percent of those in need of immediate treatment and two percent of the total infected.
"This action plan implies both a challenge to India's overwhelmed health services as well as a great opportunity to address the problem in a much more poignant way. The government of India should get as much resources as we can provide to help them advance this ambitious quest," said Crowley.
The share of international funding has traditionally been the largest in
India's HIV/AIDS programmes.
"However, not all commitments have been complied with, and even if they were they wouldn't represent enough investment to deal with prevention and treatment for the over 4.5 million people infected," he said in the letter.
Crowley said, "We are now facing a decisive moment in which we can help India create a more effective system and make full use of its excellent scientific, technological, and research assets, while at the same time increasing its prospects for stemming the epidemic."
He said, "A positive outcome of India's struggle against HIV/AIDS is crucial to US interests. Bearing in mind the importance of India as a source of stability in the region and its meaning to US security."
