The UK government's Position

Andrew Mitchell told the IDC enquiry that DFID will continue its funding of the fund and in fact will commit to a ?128 million in 2013, 2014 and 2015, working towards the previous Labour Government's commitment of ?1 billion to 2015. Beyond this he held out the possibility of a doubling in contribution from 2013 onwards. Great news. But the extra funding will be led by evidence that the Global Fund has made the necessary reforms. The Secretary of State was not opposed to a re-launch of pledges at the G20, but was concerned about the short amount of time between now and then. The UK has traditionally demonstrated historic leadership on HIV. The UK should use its position to leverage others. Instead, it seems that the US and other non-European governments are taking the lead. On World AIDS Day, Barack Obama stated, "To the global community - we ask you to join us. Countries that have committed to the Global Fund need to give the money that they promised. Countries that haven't made a pledge, they need to do so." Germany, Japan ($340 million), Saudi Arabia ($25 million) and the Gates Foundation ($750 million) have all already pledged their support. Like Walter Savage Landor famously stated: "Delay in justice is injustice". What are we waiting for? Why wait? Delay is simply not acceptable because lives are at stake. Waiting will undermine the gains made so far in the HIV response and will lead to unnecessary illness and death. It is time for the UK government to not delay and instead lead the way in the global rush to save lives.

Written by Marie-Ophelie Sarrade, Communications Volunteer, UK Consortium on AIDs and International Development

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Re: Semerweiss award’ 2008

Quote from the comments of the Science Guardian piece:

Upon their arrival, Peter and Celia insisted that I accompany them into the meeting, however, I declined, as this was their time to be front and center as the events were being laid out. After a bit, and before dinner was served, a break in discussions occurred and I re-entered the room, and indeed, sat down right next to Reverend Fauntroy, and we enjoyed a brief, gay man to a black man discussion of the issue of HIV, AIDS, homosexuals, and blacks.

I shared with him the plight of gay men over the last 25 years, and that I had witnessed the rise of this phenomenon of so-called AIDS in the gay and black communities since before the word ?AIDS? meant anything other then a ?Teachers Assistant?. I bore him direct witness of exactly what I have seen, and why I have seen it in such a light. I informed him that he as a black man, has greater freedom and acceptability then do I as a homo. He can serve in the military. I am turned away. He can marry whoever he wants. I cannot. He has more value and more rights and more dignity given to him by our society then I have. This he could not deny, and I had his full attention.

I told him how my gay brothers have suffered from homophobia, from being told by some, including black preachers, that if there is a God, He hates me. I told him that as we gays reached out for societal inclusion and sought out our constitutionally and God given rights to freedom and equality, we were attacked by those such as Anita Bryant and the Evangelist extremists, and by some of our own now homophobic families and others. I told him gay men breaking free of the pain of their secluded closets were told by the hundreds of thousands ?Do not ever talk to me again, you are not my son? by those who should have loved them, and who should have accepted them exactly as they are.

I told him how deeply gay men have been cut by the blades of intolerance. I told him that this hatred and loathing of gays led to the breaking of many hearts and spirits. That many of us became self loathing drug addicts, sex addicts, who carried within our own quiet unspoken death wishes. That these wishes soon became fulfilled for many. That this was the foundation for what we know as AIDS. I told him the only gays who suffer even greater pain then a white homosexual is a black homosexual, as they are beaten down not only by the rejection of their families for their sexuality, but are beaten down yet further by racist intolerance inflicted by some of the gay community itself.

I told him I believe Peter to be fully correct that HIV is not the cause of AIDS. That men and women who live in the destitution of Africa’s poverty and malnutrition, and all those who feel life is hopeless and not worth living, suffer most illness and disease and early death. Pills, even the most toxic pills, will never cure the ailments that spring forth from such.

The reverend fully understood, as the black communities he has ministered to have suffered greatly as well from intolerance, self loathing, and disconnections from higher truth.

He assured me he only knows too well that it is by uplifting ourselves and all our brothers and sisters in light and truth to the divinity of who we really are, that such disease will be minimized.

About this time, the individuals leading the meeting noticed I was seated next to the reverend, who was not able to get even a bite of his meal while we spoke.

Out of concern for the good reverend, someone came over and said they would soon be voting upon some issues and asked if I would wait outside the meeting. As the arrow of my words had found the target, and had now been delivered to the ?heart? of those gathered, I was now more then happy to allow these fine men and women to get back to their dinners, and votes.

It was not until after the meeting, that I had been informed of who Reverend Fauntroy is. Not being a political follower, I pray he forgive me for not even knowing that he is an esteemed member of congress.

Many more such discussions have taken place over the last 4 days, and I rest easy knowing I have been clearly heard.

The rethinkers now have much to be thankful for, and much to look forward to, though our work need yet intensify. We must make more such alliances, gather the funds, make the plans, draw the maps, and chart a new and higher course for all of mankind. I was thrilled to hear the ban against gay marriage had been overturned yesterday in California. It is one further step to the obliteration of the epidemic of homophobia that is truly at the heart of the issue of why gay men have joined modern science in suicide missions.

Our course is now set. Our work is cut out for us. May the Guardians of Truth and Light and Justice and Freedom for all prevail.

Godspeed to All,

Michael Geiger,

Washington, DC

May 16th, 2008

Yeah, I do have an idea how to change the situation. Unfortunately, it would depend on the cooperation of a majority of the American voters. And, judged by the extent of the brainwashing the man in the street has been suffering by the AIDS/HIV juggernaut, the outcome is uncertain.

I am old enough to remember the research climate during the presidency of Lyndon B. Johnson. In those days, any individual scientist who presented a reasonable grant proposal that had scientific merit, could compete for some of the funds distributed by the NIH or the NSF. The Nixon administration started steering research in the Health Sciences. Individual researchers were suddenly out of the game; all the money went to institutions. Besides, from then on, any funded project had to deal with cancer research in some way. Well, some way turned out to be a flexible principle. It was then the habit of not telling the truth became the norm for many scientists.

The nineteen-eighties brought us the Reagan administration. It was then that Aids was invented; a real boon to the commercial world, but a tragedy for the life sciences...

Yes, Aids is a political disease, and we don t know when the cure will come. All we can do in the meantime is get our facts straight (which we re doing in this forum), and wait. One day, the public mood will turn around, and this episode will finally be forgotten.

Sorry if this sounded like a History lesson, but I m afraid it s the only glimmer of hope we have at the moment. http://forums.questioningaids.com/showthread.php?t=2063

If you know the facts, would you still have the courage to treat yourself to an illness in a hospital? Even an innocent surgery can be fatal, the figures and the risks are much greater than most people can even imagine.

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Official Report USA: The landmark study Starfield, "Is the U.S. Health Really best in the world?", Published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) in 2000.

The official figures from America show that every year (approximately):

~2,000 deaths from unnecessary surgery,

~7,000 deaths from medication administration errors in hospitals,

~20. 000 deaths due to common errors in hospitals,

~80,000 deaths due to infections occurred in hospitals and

~106.000 deaths by FDA approved and properly prescribed medications.

This brings the number of medical deaths in America each year some 225,000 ..! Nearly one quarter million people who die are often completely unnecessary. The figures of LEF.org magazine reach an incredible number of 783,936 deaths in 2001 ..!

Table 1: Federal Funding for HIV/AIDS by Category, FY 2009-FY 2014 (US$ Billions)*

*FY 2013 funding levels not yet available.

================================================================

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~US Federal Funding for HIV/AIDS~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

2003 $B15 the annual US market for ARV

2008-2013$B157.5US Federal Funding for HIV/AIDS

1981-2014 total funding for HIV/AIDS in the USA will exceed $400 billion in 2014.

1981-2012 $B344total

2014 $B6 were requested in the FY14 budgetfor global HIV/AIDS assistance, including $4 billion for PEPFAR-3 (2014-8)

2012 B$27.8appropriated by U.S. Congress for AIDS around the world, including>

B$21.4for domestic HIV prevention, care, and research.; $B28spent by US taxpayers on AIDS this year -
[Rasnick at Truth Barrier, 2012-03-16]

2012-3 $B3.9=total UNAIDS HIV-targeted funds (Core UBRAF$M485and other HIV-specific funds of the UN

2010 $B32.4=$B(25.8+6.6)promised for 2010FY by post-Nobel Obama Oct 30 2009

2008 $B15.6spent on HIV and AIDS

2006 $B14.9are estimated to be needed for a timely efective responce to AIDS in low and middle-income countries vs $B8.9de facto on AIDS

B15PEPFAR-I

2001 $B6.9(AIDS -total) were spend on HIV-AIDS by US Gov

2000 $B18.2 as foreign aid were apropriated under President Clinton in 2000.

1996 $B7.5 -annual Federal AIDS budget

1995over $7billion per year on AIDS

1990 $B3per year battle against HIV (Burkett);$B3.1 [in January only $B1.6 were announced -- see the source (*) below] Bush the elder!

1989 $B 1.3total [*199001_ATTAC_RepArc_AIDS.pdf]

Vaccination industry made

2009 >$29 billion dollars

2016 ~$54 billion expected;

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~PEPFAR~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

http://kff.org/global-health-policy/fact-sheet/the-u-s-presidents-emergency-plan-for/Jan 08, 2014

Although the U.S. has been involved in efforts to address the global AIDS crisis since the mid 1980s, the creation of the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) in 2003 marked a significant increase in funding and attention to the epidemic.1, 2 First proposed by President George W. Bush in January 2003, PEPFAR was authorized by the United States Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria Act of 2003 (P.L. 108-25),3 a 5-year, $15 billion initiative to combat global HIV/AIDS, TB, and malaria primarily for 15 hard hit "focus countries," and multilateral contributions to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (The Global Fund)4 as well as UNAIDS; appropriations from Congress over this period were higher, totaling $18.8 billion.1, 5

In 2008, PEPFAR was reauthorized by the Tom Lantos and Henry J. Hyde United States Global Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Reauthorization Act of 2008 (P.L. 110-293 or "Lantos-Hyde"),6 for an additional 5 years (FY 2009-FY 2013) at up to $48 billion, including $39 billion for HIV and the Global Fund, $4 billion for TB, and $5 billion for malaria. Reauthorization also relaxed prior spending directives, emphasized country partnerships and health systems strengthening (HSS), mandated 5-year strategic plans for HIV, TB, and malaria, and ended the statutory ban on HIV-positive visitors and immigrants wishing to come to the United States.

PEPFAR continues to be a cornerstone of U.S. global health efforts. In May 2009, the Obama Administration launched the Global Health Initiative (GHI) as an effort to develop a comprehensive U.S. government strategy for global health, and cited PEPFAR as a central component.7, 8, 9 Then, in 2011, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced the goal of creating an "AIDS-free generation" and in 2012 released a blueprint for achieving this goal.10, 11 Most recently, in 2013, the PEPFAR Stewardship and Oversight Act of 2013 (P.L. 113-56) extended a number of existing authorities and strengthened the oversight of the program through updated reporting requirements, among other things

Funding

Total PEPFAR funding includes all bilateral funding for HIV as well as U.S. contributions to the Global Fund and UNAIDS (bilateral funding for TB is also counted in PEPFAR's totals). Congressional appropriations for PEPFAR increased from $2.3 billion in FY 2004 to a high of $6.9 billion in FY 2010. In FY 2013, $6.5 billion was appropriated for PEPFAR, which represents a decrease of more than $100 million (2%) below 2012 and is the lowest level of funding since FY 2008.5, 23, 24, 25 PEPFAR represents the vast majority of GHI funding (75% of the FY 2013 request). The President's FY 2014 budget request for PEPFAR is $6.7 billion, which would represent an increase of more than 200 million (3%) over FY 2013 levels.

Of the approximately $6.5 billion appropriated for PEPFAR in FY 2013:

$4.7 billion (72%) is for HIV, $233 million (4%) for TB, and $1.6 billion (24%) for the Global Fund.

The majority of PEPFAR funding is channeled by Congress to State ($5.4 billion in FY 2013 - most of which is then transferred to other agencies and includes the $1.6 billion contribution to the Global Fund), followed by USAID ($565 million in FY 2013), NIH ($372 million in FY 2013), CDC ($124 million in FY 2013), and a small amount to DoD ($7 million in FY 2013).

The largest share of approved bilateral program funding in PEPFAR countries is for care and treatment (46% in FY 2011), followed by prevention (29%). Funding for OVCs is part of care funding, and totaled 8% of approved funding in FY 2011.

Date: 2016-01-03; view: 943