U.S. to double AIDS-fighting support to Haiti

U.S. funding to fight HIV/AIDS will nearly double to $40 million this year in Haiti, where the United Nations says one in 10 people could become infected with HIV within a decade if recent trends continue, a U.S. official said on Wednesday.

Haiti is one of 15 nations U.S. President George W. Bush has designated to receive special assistance fighting HIV/AIDS, the U.S. global AIDS coordinator, Randall Tobias, said at a news conference with Interim Prime Minister Gerard Latortue.

"The United States' government provided in 2004 about $22 million in support specifically for HIV/AIDS programs in Haiti and in 2005, our plan is to nearly double that support to about $40 million," Tobias said.

In 2002, 6.31 percent of Haiti's 8 million people were HIV-positive, up from 4.98 percent in 1996, according to a U.N. report released in November. The report predicted that rate would rise to 10.5 percent by 2015 if current trends continue.

Haiti is the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere and political strife has frustrated efforts to improve medical and other infrastructure.

In 2003, Bush pledged $15 billion over five years to help combat the spread of HIV/AIDS, mostly in Africa and the Caribbean. Haiti was among the targeted nations.

Nearly 3,000 AIDS patients in Haiti have received antiretroviral treatment and other care under the plan, which includes doctor training, medical infrastructure improvements and education programs aimed at preventing the spread of the virus. It also provides care for children orphaned by AIDS, Tobias said.

"I want to assure all of you that the people of the United States will continue to be here working hard alongside those of you in Haiti to fight HIV/AIDS," Tobias said.

Latortue urged all Haitians to get tested for the virus.

"Don't be afraid to test. If you don't have it, you know you don't have it; if you have it, treatment is available," he said.