AFRO-NETS> Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report - Thu, 21 Feb 2002

[Cecilia Snyder <csnyder@ccmc.org>]

Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report - Thu, 21 Feb 2002
-----------------------------------------------

* Treasury Secretary O'Neill Defends Bush Administration's Proposal 
  to Convert Half of World Bank Loans to Grants
* Helms Tells Christian Conference Attendees He is 'Ashamed' for Not 
  Doing More on AIDS
* South Africa to Allot Additional $357 Million to Fight AIDS Over 
  Next Three Years
* Washington Times Profiles Not-For-Profit Group AHEAD
* Killing of Primates for Meat Could Hinder Medical, AIDS Research

--
Treasury Secretary O'Neill Defends Bush Administration's Proposal to 
Convert Half of World Bank Loans to Grants

U.S. Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill at a "quiet conference" on in-
ternational assistance yesterday "hotly defended" the Bush admini-
stration's recommendation that 50% of World Bank aid to developing 
countries be given in the form of grants instead of low-interest 
loans, the Wall Street Journal reports. O'Neill was responding to 
criticism by European officials, who said that the World Bank's funds 
will dwindle in the future if the bank "gives money away today" 
(Phillips, Wall Street Journal, 2/21). Bush stated in July that the 
World Bank should provide up to 50% of its assistance to developing 
countries through grants, rather than loans, so that the countries 
could "alleviate the debt that burdens" their economies (Kaiser Daily 
HIV/AIDS Report, 7/18/01). A number of lawmakers, AIDS groups and Af-
rican groups have called on international lending institutions to 
forgive the debts of developing countries, stating that debt reduc-
tion would help the countries allocate more funding toward HIV/AIDS 
and other health programs (Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, 7/20/01). 
But Bush maintains that providing developing nations with grants in-
stead of loans would help the countries more than debt relief, which 
he called a "short-term fix" (Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, 7/18/01). 
European officials have suggested converting 10% of World Bank loans 
into grants, but O'Neill said that this figure is too low. "It's hard 
for me when I look at ... the stage of underdevelopment for billions 
of people ... to say, well, let's do post-conflict countries and 
let's do a little HIV/AIDS and keep it under 10%," he said (Kahn, New 
York Times, 2/21). European officials are skeptical of the United 
States' recommendation for more grant assistance and "openly doubt 
that the United States can be counted on" to provide more assistance 
to the World Bank if the bank needs funds to provide more grants 
(Wall Street Journal, 2/21).


--
Helms Tells Christian Conference Attendees He is 'Ashamed' for Not 
Doing More on AIDS

Sen. Jesse Helms (R-N.C.) yesterday vowed to keep HIV/AIDS on his 
agenda for the rest of his term, saying he was "ashamed" that he had 
not done more to fight the AIDS epidemic, the AP/Las Vegas Sun re-
ports. Helms -- who has previously "clashed" with gay AIDS activists 
over AIDS funding and statements he made "blaming" homosexuals for 
the spread of HIV -- told participants at the "Prescription for Hope" 
conference sponsored by Samaritan's Purse, a Christian relief group 
headed by Rev. Franklin Graham, that he had been "too lax too long" 
on HIV/AIDS. Helms did not mention homosexuality in his speech but 
"praised" Janet Museveni, Uganda's first lady, for her anti-AIDS cam-
paign, which he said is founded on "biblical values and sexual pu-
rity." He added that his own efforts in the fight against HIV/AIDS 
"paled in comparison" to those of Museveni (AP/Las Vegas Sun, 2/20). 
In 2001, Helms supported legislation that authorized $700 million for 
the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (Kaiser Daily 
HIV/AIDS Report, 6/14/01). Helms is set to retire in 2003 (AP/Las Ve-
gas Sun, 2/20).


--
South Africa to Allot Additional $357 Million to Fight AIDS Over Next 
Three Years

South African officials have allotted an additional $357 million over 
the next three years to the fight against HIV/AIDS, according to the 
fiscal year 2002-2003 budget plan presented yesterday to Parliament 
by Finance Minister Trevor Manuel, the AP/Baltimore Sun reports. The 
budget calls for $86 million in the next fiscal year to go toward the 
provision of condoms, HIV/AIDS education and counseling and care pro-
grams for those living with the disease. Some of the money would also 
fund an expansion of the nation's test program to distribute in pub-
lic hospitals the antiretroviral drug nevirapine to HIV-positive 
pregnant women to prevent vertical transmission of the virus. The 
budget calls for the program's funding to be incrementally increased 
until it reaches $13 million in FY 2004-2005. The additional $270 
million would support the same initiatives over the following two 
years (AP/Baltimore Sun, 2/21). Before Manuel addressed Parliament, 
AIDS activists protested outside, calling for expanded treatment ac-
cess for all people with the virus (Ferreira, Agence France-Presse, 
2/20). Manuel told the legislative body that the government will not 
provide treatment in the near future because it remains too expen-
sive. However, the budget noted that treatment "continues to be the 
subject of various research projects" (Agence France-Presse, 2/20). 
The budget plan also "underscor[ed] the impact" AIDS has had on South 
Africa, calling the disease "the most serious challenge facing the 
country and the health services." AIDS activists welcomed the funding 
increase but said that the government still needs to do more to com-
bat the disease. "This is a bold step forward by the Department of 
Finance, but it is still not enough to resolve the problem or even to 
begin to address the real problem of premature deaths due to a lack 
of access to treatment for people living with HIV," the South Africa-
based AIDS Consortium said in a statement (Boyle, Reuters, 2/20). 

South African Communist Party Calls for Meeting on AIDS

The South African Communist Party yesterday called for an emergency 
meeting with political and trade representatives on the subject of 
HIV/AIDS. "Our people and the communities expect decisive leadership 
and action on HIV/AIDS from our government and the ANC-SACP-COSATU 
alliance as a whole," the SACP said in a statement. The African Na-
tional Congress and the Congress of South African Trade Unions have 
been "long-time allies" of the SACP. The SACP said it was asking for 
the meeting in light of Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang's 
rebuke of the government of Gauteng province for its plan to provide 
nevirapine to all HIV-positive pregnant women through the public 
health system. "The SACP central committee understood that the gov-
ernment is using the 18 pilot projects (in the country) to research 
the provision of nevirapine, its efficacy and related capacity and 
resource issues which must be addressed with a view that provinces 
which are ready must start with the provision of nevirapine," the 
statement said, explaining why it thought Tshabalala-Msimang's rebuke 
was "inconsistent" with previous assertions (Agence France-Presse, 
2/20). 

Signs That Democracy is Working?

South Africa's pluralist democracy -- characterized by a multi-party 
system, provincial governments that "stand up to the center" and the 
"existence of at least some debate" within the ruling ANC -- is 
"cracking President Thabo Mbeki's misguided reluctance to confront 
the AIDS crisis," a Washington Post editorial states. Over the last 
week there have been several indications of a "shift" within the ANC, 
the Post says, noting former President Nelson Mandela's criticism of 
the debate over HIV/AIDS and Gauteng province Premier Mbhazima 
Shilowa's decision to provide nevirapine in defiance of national pol-
icy. Such pressure from within his own party may force Mbeki, who has 
publicly questioned the link between HIV and AIDS, to take a differ-
ent stance on the disease, the editorial states. However, "[i]f oppo-
sition parties [had] presented a real challenge to Mbeki at the cen-
ter, he might have ditched his tragic views on AIDS long ago," the 
editorial adds, noting that South Africa's system is "far from per-
fect." But if provincial governments continue to assert themselves, 
"even imperfect democracy will have proved itself superior to the 
autocratic alternative," the Post concludes (Washington Post, 2/21). 


--
Washington Times Profiles Not-For-Profit Group AHEAD

The Washington Times today profiles AHEAD Inc., a not-for-profit or-
ganization established in 1981 that provides assistance to under-
served communities in the United States and Africa. AHEAD, which "im-
plement[s] programs that lead to self-sufficiency and self-reliance 
in health, education and agriculture," runs a "teen-action program" 
in Tanzania that aims to prevent HIV/AIDS among young people. Saying 
that "most of the money" committed by other groups to HIV/AIDS goes 
to vaccine research, AHEAD Executive Director Elvira Williams noted 
that the group's teen program "has gone very well" (Barnes, Washing-
ton Times, 2/21). 


--
Killing of Primates for Meat Could Hinder Medical, AIDS Research

The killing of chimpanzees, gorillas and other primates for food 
could hinder medical research, including HIV/AIDS efforts, and may 
cause further spread of disease, the AP/San Francisco Chronicle re-
ports. The "bushmeat" trade is estimated to take in about $50 million 
a year. Although the meat is illegally sold around the world, the 
largest markets are in urban areas of Cameroon, Congo and other cen-
tral African nations. Dr. Beatrice Hahn of the University of Alabama-
Birmingham said on Tuesday at a Capitol Hill hearing that there is 
"no doubt humans are exposed" to viruses through the spilled blood of 
the animals. Many HIV/AIDS researchers believe that HIV originated in 
chimpanzees and made the jump to humans through exposure to primate 
blood through the hunting and preparing of primate meat. Dr. Eric 
Chivian, director of the Center for Health and the Global Environment 
at Harvard University, also noted that as the primate population 
dwindles, humans are losing a valuable resource for studying dis-
eases. "Chimps are the most important medical research animals ... 
not just for HIV/AIDS," he said, adding that primates are also used 
in hepatitis and Ebola research. "This seems to me the best example 
of destroying other species is ultimately destroying ourselves," he 
said. Primatologist Jane Goodall added that the bushmeat trade is 
"not sustainable for the indigenous populations or the forest." The 
trade has grown as logging in previously inaccessible jungles has ex-
posed more areas to hunters. The chimps and gorillas are protected 
under endangered species laws, but the trade continues to flourish 
illegally (Donald, AP/San Francisco Chronicle, 2/19)

--
The Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, 
a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, by National 
Journal Group Inc. © 2002 by National Journal Group Inc. and Kaiser 
Family Foundation. All rights reserved.

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