[afro-nets] Cook three elephants but can't make a bowl of soup

[Claudio Schuftan <claudio@hcmc.netnam.vn>]

Cook three elephants but can't make a bowl of soup
--------------------------------------------------

A Vietnamese saying goes: "Cook three elephants but can't make a
bowl of soup" to describe people who speak a lot and do little.
How many more elephants would we need for a bowl of soup?


BUSH AIDS PLAN REACHES 1.25% OF TREATMENT GOAL
http://www.aegis.org/news/pr/2004/PR040918.html

WASHINGTON, Sept. 14 /PRNewswire/ -- Global AIDS Alliance re-
acted today to the statement of the Bush Administration regard-
ing its global AIDS programs.

The Administration says it is providing AIDS treatment to 25,000
people through its own programs as well as its contributions to
other AIDS programs. This figure represents 1.25% of the goal
the Administration announced in January 2003, which was to de-
liver treatment to 2 million people by 2008.

The Bush plan is using expensive, brand name drugs, rather than
keeping its promise to use the lowest cost drugs available. The
President's promised "expedited" approval process has yet to re-
view a single generic drug for use in the US program.

"It's disappointing that a year and a half after declaring AIDS
a global emergency, we are still just 1.25% towards the treat-
ment goal that had been announced," stated Dr. Paul Zeitz, Ex-
ecutive Director of Global AIDS Alliance. "If the Administration
had not rejected emergency funding of its initiative last year
we would certainly be further along."

The US Congress, in its AIDS authorization bill passed last
year, set a goal of 500,000 people on treatment by September 30,
2004. The Administration's performance represents 5% of what
Congress had called for at this stage.

Meanwhile, the Administration has undermined the progress of the
Global Fund, a multilateral effort delivering resources for AIDS
medication to a much broader list of countries. The President
has proposed cutting the US contribution to the Fund for 2005 by
64% and done little to convince close allies like Japan and
South Korea to give their fair share. The Administration's
Global AIDS Coordinator recently said the Fund already had "ade-
quate resources on hand," even though the Fund is so short of
available resources that it will likely not be able to issue new
grants until 2007. At its November meeting the Fund is expected
to cancel the additional grantmaking that had been planned for
next year.

The President has also taken steps to curtail competition from
low-cost generic medications, even though they are successfully
used around the world. Strong-arm tactics by the Administration
have already resulted in agreements by many Latin American coun-
tries, as well as Morocco and Singapore, to block generics.
Thailand, an innovator in the production of AIDS medication, is
now under severe pressure to follow suit.

SOURCE Global AIDS Alliance
Web Site: http://www.globalaidsalliance.org