What We’re Reading 12/2/09

Dec 2nd, 2009 11:35 AM UTC
By Robyn Mitchell

The Independent: Bob Geldof: ‘Who says aid doesn’t work?’
The Independent follows singer and activist, Bob Geldof as he returns to Africa twenty-five years after the Band Aid concert to “see how millions of lives have been transformed.” Geldof explores the issue of food security and agriculture in Ethiopia, emphasizing Oxfam’s new report, “Band Aids and Beyond,” which argues that the developed world must structure their aid so as to prevent crises before they can occur as opposed to acting after disaster has struck. Maintains Geldof, “The G8 promised an extra $20bn a year for agriculture at its summit in L’Aquila this year…We must make sure they keep their promise.”

The Wall Street Journal: Zuma, Reversing Course, Expands HIV Treatment
South African President Jacob Zuma pledged to expand treatment to all HIV-positive babies and other at-risk individuals, “the latest big step in his effort to reverse his predecessor’s disastrous policies on HIV/AIDS.” Announcing the measures Tuesday – World AIDS Day – Mr. Zuma also pledged to take an HIV test, an important gesture in a culture where the stigma of HIV/AIDS remains high. According to the Wall Street Journal, the U.S. said it would donate an additional $120 million to South Africa for antiretroviral drugs over the next two years to help the country meet a growing demand.

TIME: Is Obama Scaling Back Bush’s AIDS Initiative?
TIME reports that despite President Obama’s campaign pledge to boost funding for the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) — an initiative that has consistently enjoyed broad bipartisan support — his first budget proposed just $366 million more for the fiscal year 2010, with a majority of the countries that receive PEPFAR funds seeing no increase. However, the Obama White House does not see it as a reversal, but rather emphasized a “recommitment.” Secretary Clinton described the new focus of PEPFAR as “transitioning from emergency response to sustainable health systems that help meet the broad medical needs of people with HIV.”

Reuters: Kerry seeks more U.S. climate funds for poor nations
Reuters reports that democratic Senator John Kerry, a leading advocate of climate control legislation in Congress, recommended that the Obama administration nearly triple its current climate change budget to $3 billion to help fund efforts to address global warming. Senator Lindsey Graham, “one of the few Republicans willing to negotiate with Democrats on a climate change bill,” also called for quick action on a U.S. Climate bill, maintaining that Congress “must act by next spring to pass a bill limiting U.S. carbon dioxide emissions.”

The Huffington Post: The Obama Manifesto (Op-Ed)
The Huffington Post editorializes that as America’s first African American president, “Obama has a unique opportunity to speak openly and frankly to Africans on the political failings of their societies.” According to the article, Obama does not conceal his policy for a new and dynamic relationship with Africa – he openly declares a new partnership will be based on advancing political freedom, fighting corruption, promoting female empowerment, fostering tribal reconciliation, improving public health, and supporting indigenous economic development. Maintains the Post, “Africans have nothing to lose but their chains. They have a world to win.”

The Hill: Venture seeks funds for drugs to fight malaria
The Hill reports that Switzerland-based Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV) wants the U.S. government to ramp up funding for research and development to $10 million annually, for at least four years. MMV is asking USAID and Congress specifically to redirect more money beginning next year from a pot of funds used to cover the range of efforts to treat and prevent malaria, such as providing mosquito nets. Said MMV CEO, “The issue for us is to keep the pipeline going and to keep the products, which are in development, funded so that they see the light of day…It’s easier to have this discussion when you can demonstrably show that it works.”

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