ADVOCATES FOR YOUTH

President Announces Additional $300 Million for Fighting Global AIDS Pandemic

Advocates for Youth Asks: What About Adolescents?

WASHINGTON, DC (June 19, 2002) President Bush unveiled a proposal today to spend an additional $300 million over the next three years to fight the global AIDS pandemic.

The President's initiative limits the use of these funds to the prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission, ignoring the prevention and treatment needs of other groups at high risk for HIV/AIDS.  At especially high risk are young people under the age of 25, who account for 50 percent of all new HIV infections.

"Preventing transmission of HIV from mother to child is a very important area of prevention investment. But it is simply the tip of the iceberg," said James Wagoner, President of Advocates for Youth.  "Worldwide, young people ages 10-24 account for 2.6 million new HIV infections each year.  That is five new infections every minute, 7,000 every day.  Education and prevention are part of the solution.  To ignore this reality is to put the lives of millions of young people in jeopardy."

"One can only wonder whether the Administration is focusing exclusively on mother-to-child transmission to avoid the reality that effective prevention involves safer sex practices, specifically condom use.  'Condom-phobia' in the White House is getting in the way of sound common sense and effective public health strategies," continued Wagoner.

Wagoner went on the say the White House should recall the advice of Secretary of State Colin Powell, who, in an address on MTV, said, "[I]n my own judgment, condoms are a way to prevent infection.  Therefore, I not only support their use, I encourage their use among young people who are sexually active and need to protect themselves" from diseases such as HIV/AIDS.  "It is important that the whole international community come together, speak candidly about it, forget about taboos, forget about conservative ideas with respect to what you should tell young people about.  It's the lives of young people that are put at risk by unsafe sex."

The additional funding could have a much greater impact if its use was not limited and it was placed in the Global Fund, the program set up at the United Nations to combat global HIV/AIDS.  "The Global Fund works to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV. But it also implements prevention, education, and treatment campaigns—all essential strategies if we hope to defeat this pandemic," said Wagoner. "We cannot focus on just one front of this battle. The President had a real opportunity to make a difference in the global fight against HIV/AIDS.  Today, he came up short," concluded Wagoner.

###

Note to Editors and Producers: For more information or to set up an interview, call (202) 419-3420.

RETURN TO INDEX OF PRESS RELEASES >>