Just where is the

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Just where is the administration getting all that new money to prevent and treat AIDS in Africa?

There’s certainly some new money. But a closer examination seems to show that there’s also a lot of robbing from Peter to pay Paul.

There’s a new policy analysis up on the Brookings website and it seems to show that a substantial amount of the new money is coming out of money we’re already spending to wipe out other diseases in Africa. Here’s a key passage (see the italicized section) which comes toward the end of the paper …

Table 1 clarifies that for the combined total of the Global AIDs Initiative and the
Child Survival and Health account (which includes the bulk of HIV/AIDs assistance
in H.J.RES.2), the Administration’s request for fiscal 2004 shows no net increase
relative to the fiscal 2003 funding in H.J.RES.2. This is because the Administration’s
increase of $450 million for the Global AIDs initiative is offset by a $470 million
shortfall in its Child Survival and Health request relative to the fiscal 2003
appropriations bill.

What’s going on here? I give the administration its due. As the rest of the paper makes clear, there is some new money. But a lot of it seems to be coming out of money we’re using to fight malaria, malnutrition and various diseases that can be prevented by vaccination. Why isn’t more being made out of this?

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