Crossinator

The 2007 federal budget proposed today(Jan 30) by Congress commits $4.5 billion dollars to fight HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis in Africa and the world’s poorest countries and $248 million for the President’s Malaria Initiative. With the highest levels of funding ever committed by America to fight these three diseases, the continuing resolution includes $724 million for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and $2.9 billion for the 15 focus countries part of the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief. (from the One Campaign)

From World Vision:
The total approved for fiscal year 2007 — $4.5 billion, a 40 percent increase over the 2006 funding levels — is the largest amount of funding ever committed by the U.S. to fight these devastating diseases.
“We are especially pleased that the resolution increases global AIDS funding by $1.3 billion and malaria funding by $149 million,” said Robert Zachritz, World Vision’s senior policy advisor for global development. “It just goes to show that even in tight budget times, the Congress and the President can work together in a bipartisan manner to fight global poverty and disease.”
Funding Supporters Heard

More than 200,000 people joined the World Vision and the ONE Campaign to push for higher funding levels to combat global AIDS, TB, and malaria.
Congress responded to the urgent call.


About Darfur:
Humanitarian response in Darfur will soon be paralyzed unless African and global leaders take urgent action to end rising violence against civilians and aid workers. From World Vision.

Here are some delusions of the Sudanese President al-Bashir (from the BBC):

He dismissed reports of ethnic cleansing, saying: "Talk of Arabs killing blacks is a lie."

And he accused the West of exaggerating the number of casualties.

"A lot of organisations and the American media refer to imaginary numbers, up to 400,000 dead," he said. "All these are false."

He later said the number was closer to 9,000, Reuters news agency reported.

I actually had the chance yesterday to attend a town hall meeting for my congressional representative, Mike Pence. I was wearing my Save Darfur t-shirt and while I didn't get a chance to ask a public question, I did talk with him afterwards. It was encouraging b/c he said that it was a holocaust and was on his heart. He thanked me for my stand and appreciated my attendance. So if nothing else the issue was in his thought process again. Yay for Democracy!