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RESOLUTION ON GLOBAL AIDS
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Submitted by Union for Reform Judaism and Hadassah for Action by the 2004 JCPA Plenum
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The AIDS emergency is fast becoming one of the worst health catastrophes in human history.
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Already, twenty five million people have died from AIDS. Around the world, more than forty-
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two million people are now infected with the virus that causes AIDS. Every day 14,000 people
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are infected and 8,500 people die. In Sub-Saharan Africa alone, 30 million people are infected,
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and 13 countries have infection rates greater than 10% of the adult population.
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decimating an entire generation.
AIDS is
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Compounding the urgency of the situation are the secondary aspects of the AIDS crisis. AIDS
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has killed or incapacitated 7 million agricultural workers so that even without serious drought
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conditions, 15 million people are at risk of starvation this year. In addition, high rates of
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HIV/AIDS among teachers, law enforcement personnel, health care staff, and other workers
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threatens the economic security and future of many countries in the developing world. Moreover,
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14 million children have lost at least 1 parent to the virus, dooming a second generation to
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poverty. Additionally, tuberculosis and malaria, two deadly diseases in their own right, are
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responsible for more than half of all AIDS deaths in the developing world, and together AIDS,
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TB, & malaria kill 6 million people every year.
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The scope of the crisis is such that U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell recently said: “AIDS is
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more devastating than any terrorist attack, any conflict, or any weapon of mass destruction…
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AIDS shatters families, tears the fabric of societies, and undermines governments. AIDS can
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destroy countries and destabilize entire regions.” Moreover, the epicenter of the AIDS crisis has
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begun to shift, as India, Russia, and China face the next wave of millions of AIDS infections.
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In the face of this tragedy, there is new hope. The antiretroviral (ARV) drugs that are widely
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available in the developed world have reduced AIDS-related death rates by more than 80% and
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have reduced Mother-To-Child transmission rates. Access to these drugs has resulted in an
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increased life expectancy following diagnosis to more than 10 years. Furthermore, with the
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introduction of high quality generic drugs, the cost of delivering ARVs to the 4.1 million people
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in Africa and those in other countries who need them has decreased dramatically in recent years.
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In addition, nine candidate vaccine concepts are in or about to enter various stages of clinical
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trials around the world. However, many pharmaceutical companies around the world are still
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creating barriers that prevent the production, importation, and exportation of generic drugs.
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Finally, in some countries ravaged by HIV/AIDS, governments have been slow to respond to the
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crisis and resistant to providing treatment in the public sector.
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THE JCPA THEREFORE RESOLVES TO:
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1) Commend those governments, international organizations, and private foundations that
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have taken the lead in combating the global AIDS pandemic and call upon the United
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States government and governments and non-governmental organizations around the
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world to commit to funding a need-based response to the Global AIDS pandemic;
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2) Call on the United States to contribute an amount commensurate to its relative wealth, as
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measured by the World Bank, to the global effort to combat AIDS, TB, & Malaria,
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without restrictions which limit options for treatment and prevention programs;
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3) Support efforts to combat the Global AIDS pandemic that integrate comprehensive,
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science-based prevention strategies, especially the search for effective, low cost and
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universally available vaccines; access to life-saving medications; and universal AIDS
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related education;
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4) Support efforts to combat the Global AIDS pandemic that incorporate a comprehensive
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response to the growing orphan crisis, including universal access to education, housing,
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health care, and other social services;
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5) Urge U.S. bilateral aid and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, & Malaria,
which is already coordinating much of the global response to the AIDS crisis;
6) Support U.S. trade policies that ensure access to affordable generic drugs for all
developing countries; and
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7) Support the use of the United States government’s influence as the largest donor to the
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World Bank and International Monetary Fund to negotiate debt cancellation for all poor
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countries facing AIDS crises in exchange for that country’s investment in AIDS
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education, prevention and treatment.
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