Washington, DC — The House unanimously approved the Global AIDS and Tuberculosis Relief Act of 2000 Thursday. The bill allocates $300 million to the Treasury Department over the next two fiscal years to set up a trust fund that in cooperation with the World Bank will help fight the AIDS epidemic in Africa. The bill passed in the Senate Wednesday.
Twenty million dollars will be set aside to help fund the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative while another $50 million will be used to help address the problems associated with the over 10 million AIDS orphans in the region. The remaining money will be used to combat tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS, and provide vaccines for African children to prevent the spread of other epidemic diseases.
AIDS and tuberculosis are undeniably related, as sufferers of the former are often afflicted with the latter. Both diseases have been scourges on the African continent with AIDS being the more recent and dramatic. Noting this, Congress has decided that targeting for assistance those who have fallen victim to either disease is important to the prevention of further devastation. The bill's short term action plan was designed to specifically ensure that the money allocated is used effectively. Complete operational transparency is required in advance for the World Bank cooperative section to be implemented. In two years the bill will be revisited with an option of extending the funding or considering alternative solutions. One of the main goals of the bill is to incorporate the local communities and organizations that already exist on a grassroots level into the battle with the backing of more substantial financial base.
The bill originated in hearings organized by Senator William Frist (R- Tenn.) this past February to gather information on the extent of the damage caused by the HIV virus in Africa. He is a heart and lung transplant surgeon who became familiar with AIDS' s impact during a medical mission to Africa in January of 1998. As a result of those hearings the Senator determined that, " The human cost of AIDS in Sub- Saharan Africa is already alarmingly high and threatens to destroy societal, political and economic stability. AIDS is by far the most pressing issue that this continent faces and if we choose to do nothing, it will potentially destroy any sense of stability in the region." Frist then joined with Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Jesse Helms to draft the act. Its rapid passage this week reflects its broad based approval, and President Clinton is expected to sign it.
