HILLARY SIGNS THE GLOBAL AIDS PLEDGE

Washington, Oct 26 -- Today Senator Hillary Clinton pledged that, if elected US President, she would deliver on a range of bold, new policies to address global HIV/AIDS, the plight of orphaned children, women's rights, and related issues. Religious and community leaders who belong to two local groups, Iowans for AIDS Action and New Hampshire Fights AIDS, had asked that she sign a "Presidential Pledge for Leadership on Global AIDS and Poverty," which she signed today. In the statement, she pledges to provide "at least $50 billion" for the fight against AIDS by 2013 and to "make significant progress toward providing an additional one precent of the US budget to fighting poverty in impoverished countries."

Clinton also pledged to "improve the coordination and effectiveness of US development assistance by exploring the creation of a cabinet-level poverty-focused development agency." "Senator Clinton is demonstrating the leadership we need to win in the fight against global AIDS and make our anti-poverty investments more cost effective," said Dr. Paul Zeitz, Executive Director of the Global AIDS Alliance Fund. "By signing this pledge, she builds on her strong record as an advocate on AIDS and global poverty," he added. "She is once again showing that she is prepared to deliver on the reforms we need to preserve America's leadership on AIDS and related issues and restore America's standing in the world." "In recent years, the US has made impressive strides in the area of AIDS treatment," added Zeitz. "Keeping up the pace of the fight against AIDS, at home and abroad, while at the same time fixing those policies that are not working, is a moral imperative facing the next President." "AIDS kills 8000 people a day, and we cannot try to fight it on the cheap," said Steve Howard, spokesperson for New Hampshire Fights AIDS. "We are thrilled to see Senator Clinton taking this bold, forward-thinking stand," said Howard. "We also need to see the next President ensure full funding for science-based AIDS programs in the US," he added. Senator Clinton has also co-sponsored important, bi-partisan legislation in the Senate to help African countries improve their health systems, which will help ensure aid can be fully and effectively used. The pledge she signed today includes a promise to "increase the number of health workers by at least one million, building local self-sufficiency."