AFRO-NETS> Bill Clinton backs Stop AIDS Campaign

[Liz Dodd <lizdodd@stopaidscampaign.org.uk>]

Bill Clinton backs Stop AIDS Campaign
-------------------------------------

Before delivering The Diana, Princess of Wales Lecture on AIDS, Bill 
Clinton took the opportunity to give his backing to the recently 
launched Stop AIDS Campaign. Clinton joins a string of international 
figures, including Bishop Desmond Tutu, UN Secretary General Kofi An-
nan and President Obasanjo of Nigeria who have all voiced their sup-
port for the new initiative. In his message of support, Clinton 
wrote, "Thank you for leading the effort to stop AIDS. Stop it we 
must, following your lead." The Campaign, launched on World AIDS Day, 
brings together 15 of the UK's foremost development and HIV/AIDS 
groups to campaign for an urgently scaled up UK and international re-
sponse to this global epidemic which claims over 8,000 lives daily. 

In his address, Clinton re-inforced the message of the Stop AIDS Cam-
paign by calling on the international community to 'stop fooling 
around at the edges of this problem'. He pointed out that each day 
two and a half times more people die from HIV/AIDS than were killed 
in the September 11 atrocities. In a call to action he said, "Unless 
we deal aggressively with AIDS now, it will make us all poorer and 
less secure... This is not rocket science, it's a matter of money, 
organisation and will". He went on to map out what the international 
community must do - raise US$ 7-10 billion set out by the UN Secre-
tary General, as needed annually to begin to turn the tide, do more 
to improve the economic situation of the world's poorest countries, 
including through debt relief, and continue the search for a vaccine.

Liz Dodd, Campaign Manager of the Stop AIDS Campaign said, "The Stop 
AIDS Campaign welcomes Clinton's 'wake-up call' to the international 
community. Over the coming months we will be campaigning hard to en-
sure that this message it heard loud and clear in the UK."

For more information contact:
Liz Dodd
Campaign Manager
Stop AIDS Campaign
New City Cloisters
196 Old Street
London EC1V 9FR, UK
Tel: +44-20-7253-5860 (day)
Tel: +44-7900-214-833 (eve)
mailto:lizdodd@stopaidscampaign.org.uk

--
Notes:
[1] Members of the Stop AIDS Campaign are: Acord, Action Aid, African 
HIV Policy Forum, CAFOD, Christian Aid, Diana Princess of Wales Memo-
rial Fund, Elton John AIDS Foundation, HelpAge International, Inter-
national HIV/AIDS Alliance, National AIDS Trust, Oxfam, Save the 
Children UK, Tearfund, UNICEF UK and VSO. 

[2] A full list of statements of support for the Campaign is avail-
able from Liz Dodd.

[3] Various pictures of Bill Clinton writing his message of support 
for the Campaign and with Campaign members are available.

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