Public health experts are worried that incomplete information on the recall of the AIDS drug Viracept by the pharmaceutical company Roche is leaving AIDS victims in poor countries with a Catch-22: take their AIDS meds on schedule and risk the potential for a contaminated batch; or stop taking the drug as part of their regime, and risk the health effects of incomplete treatment.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director of the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and a top advisor to President George W. Bush, warned a conference in Sydney, Australia this weekend that the world “is losing the fight against AIDS.”
“For every one person that you put in therapy, six new people get infected,” he alerted the group of 5,000 experts from 133 countries around the globe in attendance at the Fourth International AIDS Society Conference on HIV Pathogenesis and Treatment.
Even though the number of HIV patients being treated with anti-retroviral drugs has soared from fewer than 300,000 three years go to nearly 2.2 million in 2006, so many new cases are on the rise that still only 28% of the infected are receiving medication.
More staggering, however, is the WHO’s disclosure that “in many parts of the developing world, effective prevention strategies like condoms and sterile syringes are available to less than 15% of the population.”
As AIDS continues to spread at an exponential rate, treatment alone will not contain its growth in developing countries. In response to the growing imbalance, the so-called Sydney Declaration calls upon developed nations to halt the growth of the disease at its source by devoting at least 10% of spending on HIV programs toward research and development.
In addition to vaccine research, Fauci recommends allocating a higher percentage of funds on prevention: “although we are making major improvements in the access to drugs, clearly prevention must be addressed in a very forceful way.” The most successful tools of prevention – condoms, sterile syringes – are not reaching the people who need them most.
On Friday Senator Obama came to New Hampshire to campaign for President. In Hampton, Michael Castaldo and his sons caught up with the senator to make sure that he saw and heard from ONE. Michael told me that Senator Obama talked about fighting global AIDS as a good way to show American leadership around the world. He even spoke about the Farm Bill and said that it was time to reform the slant towards factory farming, to truly help the small farmer.
Senator’s Obama staff said that no pictures were going to be allowed but Obama said that for ONE, he would take a picture. Michael and the family, thanked the senator for his support and Michael gave him a T-shirt for the next time he’s playing basketball.
Later in the day, I went with some ONE members to see Obama in Manchester where he reiterated the call to fight global poverty and disease. He even spoke about some of the top military commanders that are proposing US efforts to combat global disease and poverty as ways to prevent further military engagement.
ONE member Melissa Skinner was able to talk with the senator after the event. She talked to him about her recent trip to Namibia, and told him how important it was for the US to act and to save lives on the ground. I was able to ask the senator about reforming the cotton payments in the Farm Bill to allow the poorest people on Earth a chance to trade their way out of poverty. Obama yelled to me, “I agree”!
Right now, we – as Americans – have a real chance to make sure that the bottom billion people on Earth have a chance at survival and a stable future. From reforming the Farm Bill in the halls of Congress, to hitting the campaign trail, all ONE members are taking action to save lives and create a better and safer world for all.”
A ONE member showed up at a Sam Brownback youth ice cream social event in Iowa last week (see Sen. Brownback’s recent endorsement of ONE). Sen. Brownback gave a shout out to the ONE member and thanked her for being active with ONE. He then proceeded to explain the emergency in Africa and how saving lives requires a coalition of the left and the right.
“I see someone back there with the ONE Campaign, on Africa. Fabulous! [applause] Thank you, I’ve met with Bono a couple of times, and we’ve talked about what we can do with this moment now to help those in Africa who are in very bad conditions. I’ve been to Africa four of the last five years…where people are dying because the basic simple necessities are not there. They don’t have water; they don’t have any health care; they don’t have food, and so people die. And you don’t want that taking place. And it doesn’t need to be that way. And we can build a coalition, the left and the right, and people coming together to save lives, because every life is precious.”
This coalition to save lives exists: ONE. And thanks to you, we are growing stronger everyday. With the support of both Daschle and Frist, Edwards and Brownback, we are sending the message that some issues are just more important than politics.
Check out the YouTube video of the event below (ONE’s shout-out is at the 2:20 mark).
A formal meet and greet was held today in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina, by Robert Burton and the East Cooper Democrats for Gov. Bill Richardson of New Mexico. The debate tonight is fast approaching and candidates are beginning to pepper the low country.
We were received well by the host and what turned out to be a good many people who were well aware of the ONE Campaign and our efforts. While waiting for the governor’s appearance, we were able to answer an assortment of questions about ONE Vote ’08.
Finally appearing to the crowd, Gov. Richardson worked his way around the room shaking hands until he reached us, and exclaimed with a loud voice, “ONE!! It is great to see you guys!”
The governor talked about many issues important to his candidacy, but what I was impressed with most was the way he spoke about the role of the United States in the fight against AIDS and the duty we have to combat extreme poverty. Read his recent endorsement of ONE.
Since ONE launched ONE Vote ’08 last month I have been keeping an eye out for presidential candidates from both parties to make a campaign stop in Pittsburgh. I wanted to let them know that as an American I want our next president to be a leader in the fight against extreme poverty and global AIDS. I got my first opportunity on Tuesday, July 17, when Senator John Edwards gave a speech at a local non-profit organization, Hill House. So I grabbed my friend Bethany, and we put on our ONE T-shirts and headed out to go use our voices for the world’s poorest people!
I was glad we wore the ONE shirt because when we arrived at the event many people in the crowd came up to tell us that they were members of ONE. Others had never heard of the campaign, so we told them about how they can get involved right here in Pittsburgh in the fight for the billion people around the world who live on less than a dollar a day.
After Senator Edwards spoke he spent time meeting people in the crowd and Bethany and I took our opportunity to speak with him. When it was our turn I said, “Senator! You’re not wearing your ONE band!” As he took the band and put it on he said he had just forgotten his and would take one of mine to wear now. He then mentioned the role the United States must take in fighting global poverty and AIDS and thanked Bethany and I for our volunteer work for ONE.
All in all, it turned out to be an excellent opportunity to support ONE, and I can not wait till the next candidate comes through town! For me, it is not about a candidate or a political party, it is about showing all the candidates, both Republicans and Democrats, that I am just one of millions of Americans who want to make the fight against extreme poverty and the global disease to be a priority in the 2008 presidential election.
Staff and volunteers in South Carolina are gearing up for the Democratic Debate at the Citadel in Charleston today. Our state will be in the national spotlight, giving us a great opportunity to meet and band Democratic presidential candidates. In addition to hosting a ONE table for the event, we will also be out in force at the post-debate party and the various candidate viewing parties throughout the city. If you are planning to go to the debate or a related event, be sure to stop by our table at Joe Riley Baseball Stadium near the Citadel.
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