The International AIDS Trust

SANDRA THURMAN

The tragic consequences of September 11 have been felt around the world and have dramatically shifted the focus of the public and policy makers. However, the fight against AIDS continues, with nearly 1 million deaths since September 11, and 2 million new infections. A new focus on global terrorism presents both significant challenges and new opportunities to reduce the tremendous suffering around the worldand nowhere is this clearer than with the AIDS pandemic.

AIDS is still the crisis of our time. It is projected that by 2005, more than 100 million people worldwide will have become HIV-positive, and in this pandemic, reality has consistently outpaced projections. Each day, 15,000 people become HIV-positive, with the fastest growing rates now found in the former Soviet Union. By 2010, more than 40 million children will have been orphaned by AIDS in Africa alone, roughly the same number as all children attending public school in the US.

As the epidemic has continued, it has become increasingly clear that AIDS is not only a devastating public health crisis, but also a development crisis, an economic and trade crisis, and a security and stability crisis with far-reaching ramifications for us all. The good news is that there is much that can be done. We know what works. The global community has designed and implemented programs that have stopped the epidemic in its tracks in Senegal, dramatically slowed its spread in Thailand, and slashed rates of new infection in Uganda, and now in some populations in Zambia and Cambodia. We have developed effective treatments that enable many with HIV and AIDS in rich countries and in Brazil to live longer, healthier, and more productive lives.

Unfortunately, while extraordinary efforts are underway in developing nations on every continent around the world, they remain too few and far between. Our challenge now is to enlarge proven programs to a scale that begins to match the magnitude of this challenge.

The International AIDS Trust was established to create strategic opportunities to galvanize leadership, mobilize resources, and promote effective interventions in the global battle against AIDS. While the Trust is new, its principals shaped the expanded US Governments response to this pandemic, and the Trust now seeks to bring the same energy and skill to a private sector venture. As former Director of the Office of National AIDS Policy at the White House, and the first Presidential Envoy for AIDS cooperation, I am committed to leading this new US-based nongovernmental organization. The Trusts team and I are joined in our mission by the co-chairs of the Trust Advisory Board, former President William J. Clinton and Nelson R. Mandela.

While great progress has been made in the fight to stem the tide of rising infections, much remains that can be done. History offers many examples of times when the world has united in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds and turned the tide. The gravity of the AIDS challenge beckons us to reach for such a moment. The global community raised $200 billion to fight the Y2K virus, but less than 1% of that amount has been raised to fight the AIDS virus. According to UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, at least $10 billion a year is needed. Together, we can make this happen.

The International AIDS Trust plans to play a key part in building the potential will and raising the essential resources to win the war on AIDS through crafting new and strategic alliances, engaging new players, and brokering public- and private-sector resources. The Trust will also work to increase awareness about the global AIDS pandemic among the general public, policy makers, media, and private-sector business, labor, religious, and foundation leaders. As one component of this effort, the Trust is currently working with the First Lady of Rwanda to develop the African First Ladies Alliance Against AIDS. The First Ladies, as leaders, and as the most visible mothers of Africa, will focus much needed attention on the special challenges facing African women, children, and families affected, infected, and at risk.

Working together, we can take effective action and achieve real results. As Archbishop Tutu has said, Let us wage this Holy War together, and for the sake of our children, we will win.