Copyright 2000 P.G. Publishing Co.
Pittsburgh
Post-Gazette
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June 4, 2000, Sunday, TWO STAR EDITION
SECTION: EDITORIAL, Pg. E-3
LENGTH: 797 words
HEADLINE:
THE PRESIDENT AND THE PLAGUE;
PART OF CLINTON'S LEGACY IS THAT HE DIDN'T DO
MUCH TO ALLEVIATE AIDS WORLDWIDE
BYLINE: ANN MCFEATTERS
DATELINE: WASHINGTON
BODY:
When the book is written on President Clinton's presidency, aside
from the X-rated parts, there will be a very short chapter on AIDS.
It
will be short because the administration has not done much about curbing this
modern-day plague. That in itself is significant because those who know most
about AIDS are worried that even though many, and probably most, Americans have
stopped worrying about the spread of AIDS, the global problem is getting worse.
This past week, just before playing golf in Portugal, Clinton talked
with European leaders about new initiatives to combat AIDS. As he has mentioned
earlier this year, he wants to spend $ 50 million on a Global
Alliance on Vaccines and Immunizations to distribute
vaccines in the developing world to try to halt AIDS,
tuberculosis and malaria. But there are no one-shot vaccines
for those diseases.
He also wants to provide a tax credit over the next
10 years to create $ 1 billion worth of "market incentives" for the
pharmaceutical companies. That implies the pharmaceutical companies, which are
incredible money-makers already, are not trying now to expand profits by finding
new drugs for such dreaded diseases.
Despite the protests in Seattle and
Washington, Clinton wants the World Bank to spend more money on loans.
He also wants Congress to provide a "very big increase" in U.S. spending
on HIV (the human immunodeficiency virus) and AIDS prevention, treatment and
care.
The European Commission was moved to note, somewhat dryly, that if
AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis had the same fatality rates in industrial
countries as they do in developing countries, there would be a lot more interest
in prevention.
Former President Ronald Reagan, even close aides
conceded, had no real interest in the issue of AIDS and no real understanding of
what a massive problem it would become. Former President Bush also did not
publicly worry much about AIDS.
But even Reagan did not hold an
elaborate State Dinner for an African leader who has said that HIV does not
cause AIDS. Clinton recently broke (very expensive) bread with Thabo Mbeki, the
leader of South Africa and successor to the stately Nelson Mandela. Mbeki now
says that he said no such thing, or was misinterpreted. But Mbeiki has not
encouraged distribution of the AZT drug, which can help prevent the spread of
AIDS from an infected mother to her baby. And he has told Clinton that he thinks
African solutions to this problem are needed, not Western medicines.
Meanwhile, the statistics are staggering. As many as one pregnant woman
in three, in certain areas of Africa, are HIV-positive. In 10 years as many as
one-fourth of South Africa's people may be dead from AIDS. In some African
nations, the outlook is even worse.
When asked about all this, Clinton
said blandly that Mbeki has been misunderstood. Privately, State Department
aides say that this is a tricky diplomatic problem and that the United States
has sent experts to South Africa to foil Mbeki's weird science.
They
insist that he was urged to be more open to the drugs that may help curb this
dreadful curse that preys malevolently on the innocent. As many as 10 million
children in Africa have been orphaned by AIDS; if the trend persists, within 10
years the number of orphaned children in Africa will equal the entire population
of schoolchildren in America. All this on a continent where the average income
is less than $ 1 a day.
It is not that there is nothing being done in
the urgent world of fighting AIDS, a diagnosis which still is most often a death
sentence. Major drug companies are beginning to give discounts on drugs that
help AIDS victims in developing countries. Congress expects to ask the World
Bank to establish a trust fund to help the effort to stop the spread of AIDS in
Africa.
What is distressing, in this economic boom time, is that there
has been no all-out war declared on this scourge. While AIDS is admittedly a
daunting challenge, when mobilized, America is amazing. America decided to go to
the moon and did it. America decided to win the Cold War and did it. Clinton's
era is almost over, and he missed his eight-year chance on the AIDS front to
make a difference.
The elaborate dinner for Mbeki, who has positioned
himself as Africa's leading voice, was symbolic of a new era in U.S.-Africa
relations, especially in trade. Despite enormous potential, Africa now accounts
for only 2 percent of global trade. What a shame if one-fourth or more of the
people alive in Africa today will die of a senseless sickness before they ever
see any fruits of a more enlightened relationship.
Ann McFeatters is
National Bureau chief for the Post-Gazette and The Blade of Toledo, Ohio. Her
e-mail address is amcfeatters@nationalpress.com.
LOAD-DATE: June 6, 2000 
