WASHINGTON, Dec 11 (AFP) - House lawmakers on Tuesday approved by voice vote a 1.3 billion dollar one-year bill to help alleviate the global HIV/AIDS crisis.

The legislation provides 750 million dollars for an international AIDS trust fund and 485 million dollars in bilateral assistance to be delivered largely through non-governmental organizations, including faith-based organizations.

Another 50 million dollars has been earmarked for a pilot program for treatment of those infected by helping developing countries procure pharmaceuticals and anti-retroviral therapies.

The bill also provides assistance for several programs aimed at preventing transmission of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, and strengthening care programs, and funds research to develop a safe and accessible HIV vaccine.

"The scourge of HIV/AIDS is one of the great moral challenges of our era, for it is one of the most compelling humanitarian and national security crisis of modern times," said Representative Henry Hyde, who sponsored the bill.

"We must meet this test by reaching out now to those most in need. It is the right thing to do for our children, our country, and our world," he added.

A similar bill must now go before the Senate.

011211
AF011265

Copyright © AFP or Agence France-Presse, 2001 - AFP stories and photos shall not be published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium. AFP news material may not be stored in whole or in part in a computer except for personal and non-commercial use. AFP will not be held liable for any delays, inaccuracies, errors or omissions in any AFP news material or in transmission or delivery of all or any part thereof or for any damages whatsoever. As a newswire service AFP does not obtain releases from subjects, individuals, groups or entities contained in its photographs, graphics or quoted in its texts. Further, that no clearance is obtained from the owners of any trademarks or copyrighted materials whose marks and materials are included in AFP photos or materials. Therefore you will be solely responsible for obtaining any and all necessary releases from whatever individuals and/or entities necessary for any uses of AFP stories, photos or graphics.  http://www.afp.com/

ÆGiS is made possible through unrestricted grants from Boehringer Ingelheim, the National Library of Medicine, and donations from users like you. Always watch for outdated information. This article first appeared in 2001. This material is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between you and your doctor.

©1990, 2001 - ÆGiS. ÆGiS presents published material, reprinted with permission and neither endorses nor opposes any material. All materials appearing on ÆGIS are protected by copyright as a collective work or compilation under U.S. copyright and other laws and are the property of ÆGIS and the Sisters of Saint Elizabeth of Hungary, or the party credited as the provider of the content.