The US is set to spend $50bn to battle HIV/Aids in the next five years.
The US House of Representatives has passed a bill to more than triple government spending in Africa and other badly affected parts of the world.
The bipartisan measure, which is backed by the White House, was passed by 308 votes to 116.
The bill marks a huge increase from the $15bn authorised during the first five years of an initiative launched by President Bush in 2003.
"There is a moral imperative to combat this epidemic," said Nancy Pelosi, the House's Democratic speaker.
The initiative would be the largest US investment ever against a single disease.
HIV/Aids around the world
Last May, Mr Bush asked Congress to set aside $30bn for the plan, aimed at providing treatment for 2.5 million people and preventing more than 12 million new infections.
The programme currently supports life-saving treatment for nearly 1.5 million people, the White House said.
Initially focused on Vietnam, Guyana, Haiti and 12 African nations, the programme will be expanded to include Malawi, Swaziland and Lesotho as well as some Caribbean nations.
Opponents of the bill argued that it was too expensive, and that more pressing needs closer to home needed to be addressed.
The UN estimates that two-thirds of the 33 million people infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) - the virus that causes Aids - live in sub-Saharan Africa.
I will say Bush / US vs. HIV - have to give credit here I think
by UnConfused 8 Replies latest social current
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UnConfused
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Witness 007
George Bushes expensive attempt to win back the worlds favour....he has broken the American bank and by December the next President will need to morgage the white house.
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chickpea
let us hope the "prevention" programs do not focus on abstinence, as has been the strategery of the past
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BurnTheShips
Despite the vitriol, no one is all good or all bad. The HIV effort demonstrates this.
Some here make him into a complete villain, he is not.
Bush Derangement Syndrome.
Burn
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Perry
let us hope the "prevention" programs do not focus on abstinence, as has been the strategery of the past
Exactly when do we say that MULTIPLE PARTNER "SAFE SEX" PROGRAMS DO NOT WORK. I never heard about abstinence while I was in a state university. It was always the mantra SAFE SEX.
My solution: Promote traditional family values. Sexual intercourse will takes care of itself as it had for thousands of years.
Study: 1 in 4 teen girls has an STD
- Story Highlights
- First study of its kind shows nearly 3 million teen girls have an STD
- HPV, which can cause cervical cancer, is the most prevalent
- Nearly half of all African American females tested had at least one STD
CHICAGO, Illinois (AP) -- At least one in four teenage girls nationwide has a sexually transmitted disease, or more than 3 million teens, according to the first study of its kind in this age group.A virus that causes cervical cancer is by far the most common sexually transmitted infection in teen girls aged 14 to 19, while the highest overall prevalence is among black girls -- nearly half the blacks studied had at least one STD. That rate compared with 20 percent among both whites and Mexican-American teens, the study from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found.
About half of the girls acknowledged having sex; among them, the rate was 40 percent. Don't Miss
Dr. John Douglas, director of the CDC's division of STD prevention, said the results are the first to examine the combined national prevalence of common sexually transmitted diseases among adolescent girls. He said the data, from 2003-04, probably reflect current rates of infection.
"High STD rates among young women, particularly African-American young women, are clear signs that we must continue developing ways to reach those most at risk,"
THEY WERE REACHED AND IT FAILED....PERIOD
THIS IS AN APPALLING STUDY
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beksbks
Perry, you are behind the times dude. This administration has been funding abstinence only for years. IT DOES NOT WORK. Education to the reality is a better idea. Keeping religion out of it even better.
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Hope4Others
Educate, Educate, Educate,
Education to the reality
I agree that this is a superior way, children/teens are so lacking the guidance they need. I feel the schools have the opportunity to provide this education
needed to help prevent the spread of Hiv, they have the access day in and day out they are like home away from home to most of these kids.
hope4others
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The Nothing Man
A country which drops dombs on countless innocent people does not give a shit if people die. The HIV 'fight' will consist of more dangerous vaccinations and drugs = more money for the drugs companies making a bomb already
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frozen one
Bob Geldof wrote a piece about Bush's role in funding disease relief in Africa. In the article he said, "It is some story. And I have always wondered why it was never told properly to the American people, who were paying for it."
Here's the complete article: