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Politics : Sharks in the Septic Tank -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: 2MAR$ who wrote (8103)	3/8/2001 7:36:43 PM
From: 2MAR$	Respond to of 82486

Bill Gates Talks To Kofi Annan About Cost To Fight AIDS UNITED NATIONS (AP)--When Bill and Melinda Gates met U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan Thursday to talk about the global AIDS crisis, there was one inevitable question: How much was the world's richest man thinking of giving the U.N. to fight the killer disease? There was no immediate answer. But there is definitely a possibility that money may be forthcoming, said Trevor Neilson, spokesman for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) founder has pledged $126 million to the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative to search for an AIDS vaccine. He is also donating $750 million over five years to boost global immunization efforts to try to save the lives of the 3 million children a year who die from vaccine-preventable diseases - and to research critically needed vaccines. During their 45-minute meeting, Gates reiterated to Annan his belief that the search for an AIDS vaccine should be "of prime importance" because it is the only way to end the disease, Neilson said in an interview. But while the current debate over drug prices is important, Gates stressed that "the world can't lose sight of the fact that prevention has been proven to work and is a cost-effective and powerful way to stop this terrible situation from getting even worse," Neilson said. "We are concerned that in poor countries' governments might be pressured to take their emphasis off prevention and focus exclusively on treatment, which we think would be a major mistake," he said. "We are very concerned that a shift in focus away from prevention could result in millions of unnecessary deaths." Annan and Gates talked at length about the fact that a comprehensive global approach is needed to combat the AIDS pandemic. The Microsoft founder said he believes that UNAIDS, the world body's coordinating agency to fight the disease, should take the leadership role, Neilson said. "We believe unless business, governments and philanthropists work together in new and unprecedented ways with the United Nations and NGOs (voluntary organizations), it will be very difficult for the world to stop AIDS. So we're interested in finding new solutions to this problem," he said. "There weren't any decisions made but Bill and Melinda reiterated their commitment to helping the U.N. and its partners end AIDS, and clearly the staff of the two organizations will begin intense discussions about what that means," Neilson said. Would that mean more money for UNAIDS or other U.N. programs? "We are in this fight for the long haul," Neilson said. "If a comprehensive global plan is put into place, it is very likely that we will support it financially in one form or another." Gates and his wife, who requested the meeting, were accompanied by Patty Stonesifer, the president of their foundation. When Gates arrived at U.N. headquarters in a three-car motorcade, he was asked the purpose of the meeting and replied: "global health." Over the last two years, the Gates foundation has provided $1.5 billion for global health, including $236 million for U.N. programs involving the U.N. Population Fund, the U.N. Children's Fund, the World Health Organization and others, the U.N. spokesman's office said. (END) DOW JONES NEWS 03-08-01 07:32 PM