 |
|
| | |
President Clinton's Trip to India and Pakistan
|
At nearly every stop on this trip, my Foundation has forged new partnerships
in the fight against the HIV/AIDS pandemic. In Islamabad, I signed an
agreement with Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz to make my Foundation’s
low prices on AIDS medicines and diagnostic tests available to Pakistan.
In Goa and Delhi, I visited a drug manufacturer producing discounted treatments
for members of my HIV/AIDS Initiative’s consortium, and I announced
a partnership with the Indian government to help train nurses.
 |
Today in Sydney, I’m proud to announce the launch
of the South Asia Pacific Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS, a partnership
between my Foundation and AusAid, the Australian Government’s
overseas aid program. Together, we will fight the continued spread
of the virus in the Asia Pacific region. The government of Australia will provide $25 million over four years to
expand national care and |
treatment programs in Vietnam, Papua New Guinea,
and China’s Xinjiang Province. Their funding will support drug donations,
clinical training, improved infrastructure and supply management, and programs
to treat children living with HIV/AIDS.
I’m excited about this partnership, because the fight against
the pandemic doesn’t stand a chance without active input from the
private sector. This isn’t just the right thing for Australian businesses
to do; it’s also the smart thing. It makes good economic sense for
them to combat the spread of HIV/AIDS in the Asia Pacific region, because
the disease has the potential to undermine the very source of their success
-- the sustained growth of markets in the Asia Pacific.
On this trip, I’ve met many people involved in the global struggle
against HIV/AIDS. I spoke to heads of state, government ministers, drug
manufacturers, pharmacists, doctors and nurses, and patients at clinics.
They appreciated the reduced prices for medication and the technical assistance
made available by my Foundation, but there’s much more we can do
for them. With your support, we can negotiate cheaper drug prices, form
partnerships with additional countries, and help provide lifesaving care
and treatment to more people with HIV/AIDS around the world.
| Donate
| Learn About CHAI
|
|
|
|
|
My HIV/AIDS Initiative has substantially reduced the prices nations
participating in our procurement consortium pay for life-saving antiretroviral
(ARV) treatments, but that's only the first step toward controlling the
spread of HIV/AIDS in India. We also have to work on training health care
professionals to cope with the pandemic.
 |
Today I visited New Delhi's All India Institute of Medical Sciences,
where I talked to people living with HIV/AIDS and the health professionals
who give them the care they need. While there, I announced a program
through a partnership between my Foundation and the National AIDS
Control Organization, to train thousands of nurses in AIDS care and
treatment. |
Nurses play a vital role in the global struggle against HIV/AIDS. They
deliver critical care, provide counseling about AIDS prevention, and help
reduce the stigma and discrimination that many people living with the
virus struggle to overcome.
After the announcement I visited with patients at the All India Institute.
As always, when I visit with patients, I was moved by their spirit, their
optimism, and their courage and I was heartened by the fact that AIDS
treatment drugs are keeping them alive.
This is why our work is so important. I don't want to see anyone die
before their time, and these people deserve a chance to live full, happy
lives.
| Donate
| Learn About CHAI
|
|
|
|
|
Last night I flew to Goa, India. A former Portuguese colony on the Arabian
Sea, Goa is beautiful city flush with beaches and lush tropical forests.
I'm here to tour a factory run by Cipla, an important partner in my Foundation's
HIV/AIDS Initiative's work, and we had a great tour
this morning and I saw a lot of what is really a world-class facility.
Three years ago, we teamed up with Cipla and other drug makers to provide
AIDS medication at affordable prices to people in the developing world.
Today, because of partners like Cipla, we are able to provide life-saving
antiretroviral drugs at prices reduced by 50 to 90 percent to people living
with HIV/AIDS.
With pharmacists following the tour at the Cipla factory |
When Cipla and my Foundation first started working together, only
70,000 people in the developing world (outside of Brazil and Thailand)
were receiving these life-saving treatments. Now more than one million
people take antiretroviral medication in developing countries, including
over a quarter of a million people who get them under my Foundation's
agreements. |
The AIDS medications produced at the Cipla factories provide hope for
the 5.1 million people living in India with the virus -- but this is only
the first step. When people start on antiretroviral medication, they're
making a lifetime commitment. For long-term treatment to remain
effective, many patients must eventually move from cheaper first-line
antiretroviral drugs to much more costly second-line combinations. We
have made progress in cutting the prices of these medications, but we
still have a long way to go before they are available to all of those
who need them.
Sadly, despite all of our progress getting medication to those who need
it, more remains to be done both throughout the developing world and especially
right here in India. The UNAIDS predicts that between 2015 and 2050, nearly
50 million Indians will die of AIDS. Those are
frightening numbers, but there is hope. Strong prevention and treatment
programs can halt the spread of the pandemic here. That's why my Foundation
signed an agreement with the Indian government to work together in the
battle against HIV/AIDS.
It won't be easy to overcome the challenges posed by the virus in India,
but we can't afford to fail. With the help of companies like Cipla and
proactive governments like India's, I'm confident that we will succeed.
I'm headed to Delhi this evening to announce a nurse training program
with the Indian government and to visit with some AIDS patients, so keep
an eye out for my next post.
| Donate | Learn About CHAI |
|
|
|
|
|
