By: Judge Greg Mathis
Congress, after some hesitation from its conservative members, finally passed legislation that would provide $48 billion to treat AIDS and other diseases in Africa and key Third World nations over the next five years.
Passed by the House of Representatives earlier this year, the bill extends and more than triples spending for the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief. The move is seen by many as an important step in not only stopping the spread of the AIDS virus in poor nations, but in also improving this country’s badly damaged international image, tarnished by years of poor foreign policies.
The African Medical and Research Foundation, an international health organization located in Kenya, reports that there will be approximately 18 million AIDS orphans in Africa by 2010. The disease, which is 100 percent preventable, has ravished the continent, killing more than 35 million since the disease was first discovered. Currently, PEPFAR funds treatment for nearly 1.5 million people in Africa and in Third World nations, preventing the spread of new infections and providing care for AIDS orphans.
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