As you may know, HIV/AIDS is one of the largest challenges we face as a global community. It reduces life expectancy and decreases economic productivity—burdens that have an enormous impact on countries already struggling with poverty.
Today, Senator Clinton signed the “Presidential Pledge for Leadership on Global AIDS and Poverty.” She joined Bill Richardson as the only other presidential candidate to have signed the pledge.
Here are two main points to which Hillary commits if elected:
Give more money
She commits to set aside “at least $50 billion to the fight against AIDS by 2013,” and to “make significant progress toward providing an additional one percent of the U.S. budget to fighting poverty in impoverished countries.” In 2003, President Bush committed to provide $15 billion to AIDS relief over a five-year period through PEPFAR (The President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief). Currently, we rank 14th in the Center for Global Development’s “Commitment to Development Index” (CDI). America is a rich and generous country—but we give a low portion of our economy to help developing countries. Let’s help close the gap between what we have given and what is needed to fight this epidemic—and an extra one percent would be a big improvement.
Streamline the system
By adding her name to the pledge, Hillary also promises to look into the “creation of a cabinet-level poverty-focused development agency.” This would help us focus our global development efforts. Currently, more than 20 different U.S. government agencies are involved in global development. This means that our foreign assistance programs are frequently fragmented and uncoordinated. U.S. assistance programs could be far less expensive and more effective if we put someone in charge with direct access to the President.
We here at Global Development Matters hope all of the candidates put their names on the pledge. Let’s take more of a leadership role in the fight against HIV/AIDS and global poverty!
Read the full article to find out more about this Presidential Pledge.
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This entry was posted
on Friday, October 26th, 2007 at 4:44 pm and is filed under Hillary Clinton, HIV/AIDS, Election.
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November 5th, 2007 at 11:46 am
just another commitment to spend yet more of taxpayers’ money on an incurable disease rather than on something productive.
November 6th, 2007 at 2:44 am
I may be bias, because I like the Americans and Hillary Clinton belongs to the Women Folk, but She is definately the Person who is going to succeed
George Bush. What she has done to date proves committment. Hillary, Your husband has set the presedence; You just have to follow suit. We the Women of the World will be on your side.