PHA-Exchange> "3x5" AIDS Initiative Imperiled By Low Funding, U.N. Says

[Claudio]

"3x5" AIDS Initiative Imperiled By Low Funding, U.N. Says
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The U.N. initiative to provide anti-retroviral drugs (ARVs) to 3
million AIDS sufferers in developing countries by 2005 is facing
funding shortfalls that could put it out of operation, U.N. and
World Health Organization officials have said.

Just $2.3 billion has been secured out of the $5.5 billion
needed, with only the United Kingdom, Sweden and Spain having
contributed to date.

"If http://www.who.int/3by5/en/ 3 x 5 fails, as it surely will
without the dollars, then there are no excuses left, no ration-
alizations to hide behind. There will only be the mass graves of
the betrayed," said Stephen Lewis, the U.N. secretary general's
special envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa.

The 
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,6903,1169196,00.html
London Observer reports that some countries, particularly the
United States, are reluctant to fund the project in part because
of its reliance on fixed-dose combination of ARVs, which in-
fringe on patent law in some wealthier nations.

The United States has said it questions the safety of the combi-
nation drugs, but AIDS activists argue that the U.S. stance has
been shaped by resistance from pharmaceutical companies, which
disapprove of the drugs because they are made from ingredients
discovered by the companies and under patent.

"The U.S.'s position is to buy drugs only approved by the (Fed-
eral Drug Administration)," said Ellen 'T Hoen of
http://www.msf.org/ Medecins sans Frontieres. "The fixed dose
can't be approved by the FDA because of patent problems, not be-
cause of their safety and efficacy."

The United States is sponsoring a two-day conference later this
month in Botswana to discuss the principles of regulation of the
ARV combination drugs (Alison Langley, London Observer, March
14).