Miami Herald - Tuesday, December 2, 2003
Ashley Fantz, afantz@herald.com

Clark's proposed doubling the country's financial commitment to fight AIDS through his Global AIDS Security Strategy, a $30 billion multilayered plan. Emphasizing that more federal dollars should go to HIV prevention programs, the retired general was short on details about how he would accomplish doing so.

"World AIDS Day is a day of reflection," Clark told about 65 AIDS workers, volunteers, and clients of Fort Lauderdale's AIDS Project Florida. "This is a time to reflect on how far we've come and how far we need to go. Frankly, we've made a lot of progress."

Clark is known for his AIDS awareness campaigns in sub-Saharan Africa with pop singer and humanitarian Bono of the band U2 and his numerous visits to Haitian HIV orphanages.

OTHER PLANS

Other Democratic contenders are expected to unveil their plans to curb HIV infections this week.

Florida is home to 90,233 infected people, according to the National Center for AIDS, STD (sexually transmitted diseases) and TB (tuberculosis) Prevention. And its large immigrant population from Haiti, where HIV infections have climbed over the past decade, makes South Florida one of the highest regions in the nation for people living with AIDS.

Clark's plan -- among other things -- aims to secure universal healthcare coverage for all Americans through the age of 22. He's also pushing for frank sexual education in public schools.

"Many in my generation got their sex education in the back seat of a car," Clark said. "I remember a health class in seventh grade that I took -- that's where I should have learned about it."

Unlike President Bush's plan, which would funnel money through U.S.-based agencies, Clark said he wanted dollars directed toward the Global Fund to Fight AIDS.

He also said he would "fully fund" the 1990 Ryan White CARE Act. The CARE Act, named after a boy with AIDS who was shunned by his community, has provided the bulk of state-funded treatments around the country in the past decade, but has been the subject of budget cuts the past few years.

Clark also promised to increase funding for HIV research at the National Institutes for Health. In September, two Harvard Medical School doctors said they were forced to slow their research on oral AIDS vaccines because the NIH didn't offer a grant large enough to cover their expenses.

"We have a president who has refused to increase funding for AIDS drug treatments," Clark said. "Under my plan, that will not happen."

RED, WHITE AND BLUE

Asked how he would pay for the overhauls, Clark pointed to red, white, and blue balloons.

"I can bring this country together," he said. "I believe we can come together on this because I believe in this country. I love those colors, I love the flag."

The crowd showed its approval with applause.

HIV counselor Manuel Rodriguez said he appreciated Clark's plan, particularly his emphasis on prevention, but the talk didn't secure his vote.

"I would love to see these things get done," he said. "And, overall, I believe what he's saying. But we'll have to see how far he gets in the election. I lean more Democratic, but this didn't necessarily convince me."

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