What We’re Reading: Obama, Clinton pledge support to fight AIDS

Obama, Clinton pledge US support for AIDS fight: President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton have pledged the support of the United States in the global fight against AIDS. A recent U.N. report showed that the U.S. was the largest donor of international AIDS assistance in 2009, accounting for more than 58 percent of disbursements by governments. “The U.S. has the power to literally change the course of the epidemic,” the Conference chief said. (Veronika Oleksyn, Associated Press)
New fronts in AIDS war, but funding foe is back: The International AIDS Conference in Vienna made advances in their fight, but found themselves continuing to battle the challenge of funding. While new objectives were set in treating patients with the famous “cocktail” of drugs that treat HIV, new figures showed western donors in 2009 contributed less than in 2008, making it the first annual decline in six years. Michel Kazatchkine, executive director of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria, urged a micro-tax on financial transactions, saying it was time for fast-growing emerging economies to open their wallets for the cause. (Richard Ingham, AFP)
Good Governance is a Duty of All Citizens – UNDP Chief: United Nations Development Programme resident coordinator Macleod Nyirongo has said issues of good governance are a responsibility for all citizens – meaning that the government should meet them half-way. Issues of HIV/AIDS are a challenge which should be tackled in all sectors, he said. And on the issue of education, Nyirongo stressed the need to promote vocation training. (AllAfrica.com)
Stop Taxing the Fight Against Malaria: The presidents of the United Republic of Tanzania and the Republic of Uganda write about the challenge of hosting the annual meeting of the African Union, calling for “strategic leadership, vision and courage to address the challenges we face.” With the challenge of malaria, the pair calls for a removal of taxes on tariffs on medication produced outside of Africa. By taxing these treatments the volume of medications that can be purchased is reduced and distribution of medication is delayed. (Yoweri Museveni and Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete, Wall Street Journal)