Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2000. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
|
|
Wall Street Journal - July 19, 2000
Michael M. Phillips, Staff Reporter
Officials of the Export-Import Bank, which usually finances sales of such things as jets and telecommunications equipment, announced the anti-AIDS initiative Wednesday.
"It's a shame that people should be dying when the medicine is available," said Edith Ssempala, Uganda's ambassador in Washington.
For months, Ex-Im Bank, which facilitates U.S. exports through loans, guarantees and risk insurance, has been seeking a role in the Clinton administration's escalating fight against AIDS. Some 23 million sub-Saharan Africans now carry the AIDS-causing HIV virus, with eight more people infected every minute, and the United Nations estimates the bill for treatment and prevention at $3 billion a year.
But Ex-Im Bank Chairman James A. Harmon, whose eager export promotion has at times put him at odds with broader administration foreign policy, elicited some skepticism among other members of the Clinton economic team. While generally favoring the plan, they wondered how effective Ex-Im's commercial-rate loans would be in addressing a complex crisis.
"Even if we gave drugs away for free, many African countries would face a major challenge in taking care of the other issues they need to address to fight the epidemic," said Jeffrey Sturchio, a spokesman for Merck & Co., Whitehouse Station, N.J. The problems include shortages of HIV-testing facilities, trained health workers and other medical infrastructure.
A year's worth of the three-drug anti-AIDS cocktail costs $10,000 to $12,000 a patient in the U.S., far beyond what the average African could afford. Merck and four other major drug companies, having promised earlier this year to sell life-prolonging medicine to Africa below market prices, expect to begin country-by-country negotiations in the next few weeks to determine how deep that discount will be and which drugs will be included.
"Everybody agrees that one of the most important things that needs to be done now to find sustainable solutions to the HIV/AIDS epidemic is to find additional sources of financing," Mr. Sturchio said. "If Ex-Im Bank really does work to make more resources available to those African countries, then it's very welcome."
Ex-Im Bank financing itself isn't cheap, and a number of African nations with high HIV infection rates are already heavily in debt to the World Bank, International Monetary Fund and other creditors. Several are enrolled in a Clinton-backed debt-relief program limiting the amount of new, high-interest debt they can take on. Ex-Im Bank officials have contacted the IMF to discuss the debt-ceiling question.
Write to Michael M. Phillips at michael.phillips@wsj.com1
URL for this Article: http://interactive.wsj.com/archive/retrieve.cgi?id=SB963967808469569034.djm
Hyperlinks in this Article: (1) mailto:michael.phillips@wsj.com
000719
WJ000707
Copyright © 2000 - The Wall Street Journal. Reproduction of this article (other than one copy for personal reference) must be cleared through the WSJ Permissions Desk.
AEGiS is a 501(c)3, not-for-profit, tax-exempt, educational corporation. AEGiS is made possible through unrestricted funding from Boehringer Ingelheim, Bridgestone/Firestone Charitable Trust, Elton John AIDS Foundation UK, the National Library of Medicine, AIDS Walk of Orange County, and donations from users like you.
Always watch for outdated information. This article first appeared in 2000. This material is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between you and your doctor.
AEGiS presents published material, reprinted with permission and neither endorses nor opposes any material. All information contained on this website, including information relating to health conditions, products, and treatments, is for informational purposes only. It is often presented in summary or aggregate form. It is not meant to be a substitute for the advice provided by your own physician or other medical professionals. Always discuss treatment options with a doctor who specializes in treating HIV.
Copyright ©1980, 2000. AEGiS. All materials appearing on AEGiS are protected by copyright as a collective work or compilation under U.S. copyright and other laws and are the property of AEGiS, or the party credited as the provider of the content. .