Africa: Funding sought for epidemic control.

In the U.S. Congress, 8 Senators and more than 70 Representatives have signed a Dear Colleague letter seeking 1.2 billion dollars in emergency supplemental funding for the global AIDS crisis. The letter will soon be sent to President Bush.

Despite the great costs resulting from the September 11 attacks, the money is available, as the U.S. is now about halfway through a $100 billion economic stimulus package. This $100 billion needs to be spent anyway, on something, in order to stimulate the U.S. economy. Less than 2% of this money would cover the U.S. share of a good start on global control of HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria -- and encourage serious contributions from others.