Bloomberg– President’s Emergency AIDS Plan Saved 1.2 Million in Africa
In addition to yesterday’s story in the New York Times, Bloomberg News also reports on the new Stanford University study that found that the U.S. global AIDS initiative PEPFAR has cut the HIV/AIDS death toll by 1.2 million in a dozen hard-hit African countries from 2004 to 2007. The study, published this week in the “Annals of Internal Medicine,” found that PEPFAR lowered the AIDS death rate by 10.5 percent on average each year in those countries.

Reuters—US adds $80 million in food aid for Africa
The United States will spend an additional $80 million in funding for four projects to feed 655,000 children in Africa, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said on Tuesday. The funding comes on top of $95.5 million allocated in December and is to be spent this fiscal year, officials said.

Reuters—Food crisis not over, U.S. aid is key: WFP official
Despite the additional funding to fight a growing world food crisis, the U.N.’s World Food Program said more—and more effective—funding is needed this year. The United States provides a little more than half of the world’s food aid, with an operating budget for food aid for fiscal 2008 of about $2.5 billion, but also comes under frequent criticism because it is the only major donor that provides most of its food aid in the form of commodities rather than cash, a policy that benefits U.S. farmers. The food aid can be more beneficial if it is purchased locally or regionally in the area of the need, rather than in the United States and then shipped overseas, critics charge. U.S. officials have acknowledged the criticism and have been working to make changes.

Reuters—WTO’s Lamy says Doha deal in sight
The Doha round of global trade talks could be concluded within eight months of preliminary agreements on industrial tariffs and agriculture subsidies, the head of the World Trade Organisation said yesterday. WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy said the WTO would give time to the United States to indicate its position and for India to conduct elections in April and May before convening trade ministers for more negotiations. Lamy put the talks, launched in 2001 with an emphasis on development and opening markets in agriculture, manufacturing and services, on ice last December, citing a lack of political will among major powers to bridge their differences.

Washington Post—Awareness Campaign On HIV/AIDS Begins
The Obama administration began a five-year, $45 million media blitz yesterday to spark awareness about HIV infection and AIDS, saying that Americans have grown complacent about the deadly illness even though it represents “a serious threat to the health of our nation.” The campaign, Act Against AIDS, will include public service announcements, advertising on trains, buses and other modes of public transportation, text messages and a Web site, http://NineAndaHalfMinutes.org, a reference to the frequency with which people are infected.

Reuters—UN seeks $35.7 million to help battered Madagascar
Madagascar faces a freezing of bilateral aid after being hit by drought, cyclones and political instability, the United Nations said on Tuesday, launching a $35.7 million appeal to save lives in the Indian Ocean island. A lack of rain is expected to delay the next harvest on Madagascar by three months until June and reduce it by 30 to 40 percent, leaving a significant food gap, it said. Nearly 3.4 million people in Madagascar — where 71 percent of the population lives on under two dollars per day — now need humanitarian assistance, the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said in an appeal to donor countries.

-Steve Wilson