PHA-Exchange> 14 Nations Will Adopt Airline Tax to Pay for AIDS Drugs

[claudio at hcmc.netnam.vn]

from Vern Weitzel at UNAIDS <vern at unaids.org.vn> -----
    
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-fg-
unaids3jun03,1,2690801.story?coll=la-news-a_section&ctrack=1&cset=true

14 Nations Will Adopt Airline Tax to Pay for AIDS Drugs
France leads the effort meant to provide greater access to medicines. The U.S. 
opposes the levy.
By Maggie Farley, Times Staff Writer
June 3, 2006

UNITED NATIONS — A three-day AIDS conference set a goal Friday of doubling 
spending to slow the 
spread of the disease, and 14 countries announced an airline ticket tax to 
fund greater access to 
AIDS drugs.

The special session on HIV/AIDS was marked by political haggling over the 
mention of condoms, safe 
drug use and sex education. Delegates agreed to cite condoms specifically, but 
language on drug use 
and sex education is couched in euphemisms.


U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan pleaded with the assembled representatives, 
who included African 
presidents, foreign ministers from around the world and First Lady Laura Bush, 
to not let politics 
derail progress.

"AIDS … has inflicted the single greatest reversal in the history of human 
development. The response 
has started to gain real strength … but the epidemic continues to outpace 
us," he said. "This fight 
requires every president, every parliamentarian to say, 'AIDS stops with me.' "

Bush called for an international HIV testing day, modeled on the United 
States' own, and praised the 
U.N.'s official anti-AIDS policy called ABC — Abstinence, Be faithful and 
Condom use — without 
dwelling on the fact that U.S. funds focus on abstinence-only programs, to the 
criticism of many 
activists who say that ignoring condoms is unrealistic.

The U.S. sided with unlikely allies such as Syria, Yemen and Pakistan in 
opposing "empowerment for 
girls" in birth control and marital relations, and it fought to water down 
financial targets despite 
its own substantial contributions.

The U.S. made a commitment in 2003 to spend $15 billion over five years. But 
along with the European 
Union and Japan, it fears that the largest donors will carry not only the 
greatest financial burden 
of the new goals, but also the blame if they are not met, diplomats said.

The summit is the follow-up to a watershed 2001 conference, which resulted in 
$8 billion spent on 
fighting AIDS. This conference, which concluded Friday, was designed to take 
stock of progress in 
the five years since. There have been some successes, Annan said: Seven times 
as many people now 
have access to AIDS drugs, and the infection rate is declining in several 
African countries.

But a report released this week also says that the world has failed to meet 
many of the 2001 goals: 
Only 9% of pregnant women receive drugs to prevent the transmission of AIDS to 
their child, despite 
a target of 80%.

The infection rate has grown rapidly in Asia, which is now second to Africa in 
the number of HIV 
positive people.

The U.N. estimates that it needs more than $20 billion by the end of the 
decade to provide 
preventive education and medicines to the growing number of people infected. 
But world leaders shied 
away from promising specific amounts at the conference, and so far, the AIDS 
war chest has pledges 
for less than half what is needed.

But a group of 14 nations, led by France, announced a new mechanism to provide 
greater access to 
drugs, funded by a tax on airline tickets that is expected to raise more than 
$258.3 million a year.

France has voluntarily imposed an economy class levy ranging from 1 euro — 
about $1.30 — in Europe 
to 4 euros for longer flights. For first and business class, the fee is 10 
euros in Europe and 40 
euros elsewhere.

The U.S. opposes the tax, but Brazil, Chile, Cyprus, Congo, France, Gabon, 
Ivory Coast, Jordan, 
Luxembourg, Madagascar, Mauritius, Nicaragua, Norway and Britain have pledged 
to implement it. 
Starting July 1, France will collect the fee from all flights entering or 
leaving France.

"Every person in the world who can afford to buy an air ticket can afford this 
very mild, 
minimum-level tax upon it," said Erik Solheim, Norway's minister for 
International Development.

The funds will go to buying AIDS drugs in bulk to help reduce the prices, and 
to give incentives to 
drug companies to produce more antiretroviral drugs for children, which are 
now more expensive and 
less in demand than adult formulations.



------------------------------------------------------------------
This mail sent through Netnam-HCMC ISP: http://www.hcmc.netnam.vn/