Copyright 2000 Globe Newspaper Company
The Boston
Globe
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February 25, 2000, Friday ,THIRD EDITION
SECTION: NATIONAL/FOREIGN; Pg. A8
LENGTH: 376 words
HEADLINE:
BILL OFFERS INCENTIVES FOR MALARIA, AIDS, TUBERCULOSIS VACCINES
BYLINE: By John Donnelly, Globe Staff
BODY:
WASHINGTON - Alarmed by the "death spiral"
from AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria in Africa, US Senator John Kerry yesterday
proposed a $150 million plan laden with tax
credits to spur research for development of vaccines
against those diseases.
"This grew out of my awareness in the last year
and a half of the incredible level of devastation in Africa," the Massachusetts
Democrat said last night. "It's unacceptable for any country to sit by while
that is going on. It's a human catastrophe beyond
belief." Called the Vaccines for the New Millennium Act,
Kerry's proposal also is aimed at encouraging research by increasing a tax
credit to 50 percent from the current 20 percent as well as giving tax
credits for the sales of new vaccines for malaria, TB,
or HIV/AIDS.
Kerry said incentives for private companies were a key part
of the bill. Quoting World Bank figures, he noted that of the
$250 million to $350 million spent on research
for AIDS last year, the industry funded less than $52 million.
Last year, AIDS, TB, and malaria killed 5.2 million people. Africa alone
has an estimated 40 million orphans due to deaths from AIDS.
Kerry's
proposal is part of a larger movement toward assistance for African countries.
Last November, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced a
$750 million grant to the Global Alliance for Vaccines and
Immunizations. And Kerry also is one of the co sponsors of a bill that would put
$2 billion in new funding toward treatment for HIV/AIDS in
Africa.
While medical providers applauded Kerry's vaccination bill
yesterday, some said that much more money is needed to treat those with the
diseases.
"There can't be this constant struggle between vaccine
development and therapy," said Paul Farmer, director of Harvard Medical School's
Program in Infectious Disease and Social Change. "That's what we have now - a
cat fight between people who should be working together to prevent and treat
these diseases."
Kerry responded: "There won't be a fight. There will
funding for both treatment and research."
Farmer was skeptical. "When
this becomes a foreign policy priority of the United States, then the sums
disbursed will be at least 10 times as great as those proposed."
LOAD-DATE: March 4, 2000 
