Confessions of a Misguided Trio

Australia Finds Some Money

As some would be aware former US President Bill Clinton is in Australia at the moment earning $2400 a head for a 40 minute chat on thought leadership.

One other perk in being a former "leader of the free world" is your ability to make other governments listen to what your doing. At long last Australia has decided to jump into bed (no pun intended) with Clinton and have agreed to provide $25 million in aid over the next four years to help treat the victims of the HIV/AIDS pandemic.

Concentrating on Papua New Guinea, Vietnam and China, the program will be complemented with further funds from the Clinton Foundation.

'The Foundation and AusAID will work together with public health authorities in each country to scale-up treatment and care for people living with HIV/AIDS. This will include availability of anti-retroviral drugs, improving laboratory and testing infrastructure and strengthening monitoring and evaluation systems.'

It appears that Foreign Minister Downer finally understands the threat posed by the pandemic...

'[Today] I will officially launch the Asia Pacific Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS. This initiative by AusAID, in partnership with the Lowy Institute for International Affairs, recognises the long-term threat that HIV/AIDS poses for Australian business.

Through the government's partnership with the Clinton Foundation and by enlisting the input and expertise of our corporate sector, the Australian response to the spread of HIV in the Asia Pacific Region is being greatly accelerated.'

I'll be sure to post more on the Asia Pacific Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS when it becomes available...

posted by Mark @ 2:16 PM