US foreign aid up for HIV/AIDS, Millennium funds

	Tweet

U.S. foreign aid would rise 10.7 percent under the proposed White House budget released on Monday, with more money to fight HIV/AIDS and help countries that reform economically and politically.

State Department figures showed the U.S. foreign operations budget, which funds everything from child health care programs and aid to refugees to foreign military sales and debt relief, would rise to $22.82 billion from an estimated $19.71 billion.

Rather than being dedicated to specific nations, most of the rise would go to double funds for the Millennium Challenge Corporation, which rewards nations that pursue “good governance and sound policies,” to $3 billion from $1.49 billion.

This is below the $5 billion that U.S. President George W. Bush initially promised he would seek for the Millennium Challenge Corporation, an apparent reflection of past congressional reluctance to fully fund it.

At present, 17 countries are eligible to apply for the corporation funds: Armenia, Benin, Bolivia, Cape Verde, Georgia, Ghana, Honduras, Lesotho, Madagascar, Mali, Mongolia, Morocco, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Senegal, Sri Lanka and Vanuatu.

The other large increase was for the U.S. Global HIV/AIDS Initiative, whose funds would rise to $1.97 billion from $1.37 billion. The effort seeks to help the most severely afflicted countries around the world combat the disease. 

RELATED STORIES:
French Doctors Treating Arafat Rule Out Leukemia   Lifestyle of young males leads to higher death rate   Malaysia declares haze emergency in two areas   Bribes help workers kick the habit   Causes of Gulf War Illness are complex and vary by deployment area   Four more Vietnamese suspected to have bird flu   U.S. government starts test of SARS vaccine   New study examines the economic returns of public access policies   Online patient monitoring   Contraband cigarettes main source of supply for Ontario youth   Heart devices may cost Medicare $2 billion   Nurses may help some overweight kids

Comments

[ + Post Your Own ]

Now you're in the public comment zone. What follows is not Armenian Medical Network's stuff; it comes from other people and we don't vouch for it. A reminder: By using this Web site you agree to accept our Terms of Service. Click here to read the Rules of Engagement.

There are no comments for this entry yet. [ + Comment here + ]