Washington, DC — "Aids is the greatest disaster in human history, says Richard Feacham, head of the Global Fund to Fight Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria. But the Geneva-based organization, founded in 2002 in response to a call by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, has been unable to raise the money it needs to fund the programs it currently supports in 124 countries - and it faces increasing demands while suffering a severe financial shortfall.
The region most severely affected by the lack of resources is Africa. Although the World Health Organization is having problems raising money for its campaign to get two million additional people into Aids treatment programs worldwide by the end of next year, four million Africans already need the life-prolonging drugs.
Across the continent, national systems are collapsing under the burdens of inter-related, HIV-driven catastrophes. Botswana, a stable and diamond-rich democracy, should have had a life expectancy approaching the mid-70s at the end of this decade. Instead, its citizens are facing an average life span of 27 years, and most of Botswana's neighbors are forecasting life expectancies dipping to levels not seen for a century. Already there are millions of orphans.
But Edward Scott wants you to know that you shouldn't throw up your hands in discouragement. "This is not a hopeless situation," he says. "It can be addressed, and there are people working to do it."
The software entrepreneur, who founded BEA Systems after a career in business and government, was in Washington, DC on Thursday to make that case, and he wasn't alone. At the Georgetown home of former White House counsel C. Boyden Grey, Scott introduced a crowd of power brokers in politics, business, media and lobbying to an organization he has established to draw attention and resources to the crisis.
Friends of the Global Fight aims to press policy makers to increase funding to combat Aids and related diseases, but it also plans to "brand" the Global Fund among the U.S. public. "Americans will be enlisted to join the fight and teach the world that Aids, TB and Malaria are preventable, and the time for action has come," says the group's website.
Scott says the organization will use creative methods to induce volunteerism and private giving, as well as to encourage a sustained and comprehensive international response. Thursday's reception unveiled one of the tools, a 10-minute film, narrated by Tom Hanks, called "Hope to Fight For."
Launching a movie as the centerpiece of a call to action seemed fitting, in light of the evening's announcement that Motion Picture Association of America President and CEO Jack Valenti will preside over the new effort. The 82-year-old Valenti, who is stepping down from the influential industry group, told the gathering that he will become president of Friends of the Global Fight.
"I know a bit about Hollywood and I know a bit about Washington," said Valenti, a former ad man who was a special advisor to President Lyndon Johnson before becoming head of the Motion Picture Association in 1966. A Texas native who holds an MBA from Harvard, Valenti became known as a forceful and effective advocate of the film industry. He says that all the expertise he gained from his previous experiences will be applied to his new cause.
In his remarks, Valenti gave credit to many people, including Global Fund head Richard Feacham and Arizona Republican Congressman Jim Kolbe, both of whom attended the launch. But he paid special tribute to Ed Scott, who, in addition to initiating the Friends effort, helped found the Center for Global Development and DATA, two other Washington,DC -based organizations that do research and advocacy on issues of debt, aid and development.
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"He has looked at all the gathering dangers of the world," Valenti told the crowd, and has responded in an unusual way. "There are a lot of rich people in the world who can write checks, and many of them do," said Valenti. But he said few devote themselves so personally to solving the hard problems.
Scott said that Friends of the Global Fight intends to make the Global Fund a household name - one that governments, philanthropies and individuals will want to support. And beyond the Fund itself, he said, "We support everyone who devotes their lives to combat these dreaded diseases."
Press Release: Jack Valenti to Lead New Effort
