WASHINGTON, Oct. 26 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today Senator Hillary
Clinton pledged that, if elected US President, she will deliver on a range
of bold, new policies to address global HIV/AIDS, the plight of orphaned
children, women's rights, and related issues.
Religious and community leaders belonging to two local groups, Iowans
for AIDS Action and New Hampshire Fights AIDS, had asked that she sign a
"Presidential Pledge for Leadership on Global AIDS and Poverty," which she
signed today.
In the statement, she pledges to provide "at least $50 billion" for the
fight against AIDS by 2013 and to "make significant progress toward
providing an additional one percent of the US budget to fighting poverty in
impoverished countries."
Clinton also pledged to "improve the coordination and effectiveness of
US development assistance by exploring the creation of a cabinet-level
poverty-focused development agency."
"Senator Clinton is demonstrating the leadership we need to win in the
fight against global AIDS and make our anti-poverty investments more cost
effective," said Dr. Paul Zeitz, Executive Director of the Global AIDS
Alliance Fund.
"By signing this pledge, she builds on her strong record as an advocate
on AIDS and global poverty," Zeitz added. "She is once again showing that
she is prepared to deliver on the reforms we need to preserve America's
leadership on AIDS and related issues and restore America's standing in the
world."
"In recent years, the US has made impressive strides in the area of
AIDS treatment," added Zeitz. "Keeping up the pace of the fight against
AIDS, at home and abroad, while at the same time fixing those policies that
are not working, is a moral imperative facing the next President," he said.
"AIDS kills 8000 people a day, and we cannot try to fight it on the
cheap," said Steve Howard, spokesperson for New Hampshire Fights AIDS. "We
are thrilled to see Senator Clinton taking this bold, forward-thinking
stand," said Howard. "We also need to see the next President ensure full
funding for science-based AIDS programs in the US, to reach everyone at
risk," he added.
Senator Clinton has co-sponsored important, bi-partisan legislation in
the Senate to help African countries improve their health systems, which
will help ensure aid can be fully and effectively used. The pledge she
signed today includes a promise to "increase the number of health workers
by at least one million, building local self-sufficiency."
SOURCE Global AIDS Alliance Fund
www.prnewswire.com
