Hi everyone,
Please consider signing the following letter to Senator Coleman that urges
him to support current legislation on global AIDS funding. As you can see,
many of your favorite professors and some of the most prominant health
professionals and scientists in Minnesota have already signed the letter.
As you may know, President Bush recently signed the U.S. Leadership on AIDS,
TB, and Malaria Act of 2003, authorizing $15 billion for AIDS over 5 years,
with up to $1 billion for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB, and Malaria in
2004. This was a big step forward, but AIDS advocacy groups are mobilizing
now around the appropriations process to make sure that Congress and the
President actually come through with the highest amount of possible funding
for global AIDS. Senator Coleman, as a moderate Republican, will be a key
vote when it comes time for the Senate to vote on the appropriation of these
funds.
the attached sign-on letter thanks Senator Coleman for supporting the AIDS
bill that just passed, and urging his support for the appropriation of these
funds. The letter also urges him to contact the President to ask for higher
budget ceilings for foreign aid, so that AIDS programs can be funded without
cutting other crucial international health programs.
If you would like to add your name to the letter (Don't worry about the lack
of titles! We are the future of medicine, and our opinions make a
difference too!), please just reply to this email and give me your name,
degree, title/affiliation (for ID purposes only), and town. We'd be honored
to have your support on this letter and in this effort. Also, if you have
any suggestions of others who might be interested, please let me know. I
will forward the names to Physicians for Human Rights, who has been
organizing the letter campaign. The letter will be presented to Senator
Coleman when he comes home for the 4th of July recess, so please try and be
prompt.
Thanks and Best Regards
__________________________________________________________________________________
Dear Senator Coleman:
We write as Minnesota health professionals, scientists, and students to
express our appreciation for your support of the United States Leadership on
Global AIDS, TB, and Malaria Act of 2003. This legislation, which endorses
$15 billion over 5 years for global AIDS programs, is a historic and
revolutionary step forward in the battle against AIDS—one of the most
devastating, emergent health crises in human history. The Bush
Administration and Congress now face the difficult task of following through
with this commitment by appropriating these funds without sacrificing other
international health programs. We respectfully urge you to support an
appropriation of the $3 billion designated for global AIDS in fiscal year
‘04, contained in the authorizing bill. We also wholeheartedly urge you to
convey to President Bush the need to submit a budget amendment to Congress
so that full funding will be possible. Finally, we encourage you to support
a designation of $1 billion in 2004 for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS,
Tuberculosis, and Malaria (Global Fund).
The Global Fund is an efficient, accountable, results-oriented mechanism for
responding to three killer diseases. It is a streamlined, independent,
public-private partnership created to mobilize new resources, and is
independent from the United Nations and other international bodies. The
Global Fund is committed to funding "best practices" in prevention and
treatment, and donors’ contributions are coordinated and directed to make
maximum use of scarce funds. Without significant new commitments from the US
and other donors, it will not have the resources for new rounds of grants.
As you know, more than 40 million people are living with HIV/AIDS today. 95%
of people living with HIV/AIDS reside in developing countries where there is
inadequate access to life-saving antiretroviral medicines. As health
professionals, we view our efforts to assure our country’s adequate response
to this unprecedented global health emergency as an extension of our
professional responsibility. In this spirit, we call on you to commit your
full support for the appropriation $3 billion for fiscal year ‘04 in
bilateral aid, and $1 billion for the Global Fund in 2004.
As President Bush said in his State of the Union address this year, "never
has history offered the opportunity to do so much for so many."
Sincerely,
CURRENT LIST OF SIGNATORIES
Omobosola AKinsete MD. MPH
Infectious Disease Fellow
Department of Infectious Disease/Medicine
University of Minnesota
MMC 250
516 Delaware Street, SE
Minneapolis, MN 55455
Kristin Anderson, PhD, MPH
Associate Professor
1300 S. 2nd St., Suite 300
Division of Epidemiology
University of Minnesota
Minneapolis, MN 55454
Andrew Badley, MD FRCP(C)
Division of Infectious Diseases
Mayo Clinic and foundation
5th floor Guggenheim
Mayo Clinic
200 1ST St SW
Rochester MN 55905
Nina Bacaner, MD, MPH, DTMH
Assistant Professor University of Minnesota
Department of General Internal Medicine
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Johan S Bakken, MD
Immediate Past President, North Center Chapter Infectious Diseases Society
of America
Fellow IDSA
Duluth Clinic
400 E 3rd St
Duluth, MN 55805
Hank Balfour, Jr. MD
Principal Investigator, Minnesota ACTU
Professor in the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology and the
Department of Pediatrics, University of Minnesota Medical School
University of Minnesota International Center for Antiviral Research and
Epidemiology
420 Delaware Street SE
Minneapolis, MN 55455
Dianne M. Bartels, R.N., M.A., PhD.
Associate Director
Center for Bioethics
University of Minnesota, Suite N 504 Boynton
410 Church St. S.E.
Minneapolis, MN 55455
Karyn Baum, M.D.
Assistant Professor of Medicine
Chair, Medical Student Committee, American College of Physicians
845 Laurel Ave
Saint Paul, MN 55104
(Constituent)
Kiran Belani, MD
Park Nicollet Clinic
Assistant Professor of Medicine
University of Minnesota
Minneapolis, MN 55455
Kumar G. Belani, M.D.
JJ Buckley Professor and Interim Head
Department of Anesthesiology
Professor of Pediatrics
University of Minnesota
Trustee, Karnataka Comprehensive Aids Research and Education Services
(K-CARES)
Iris Wagman Borowsky, MD, PhD
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics
Division of General Pediatrics and Adolescent Health
University of Minnesota
200 Oak St., SE, Suite 160
Minneapolis, MN 55455
Arthur Caplan, Ph.D.
Former Director, Center for Biomedical Ethics, University of Minnesota
Former Professor of Philosophy and Professor of Surgery, University of
Minnesota
The Emanuel and Robert Hart Professor of Bioethics,
Chair of the Department of Medical Ethics and Director, Center for Bioethics
University of Pennsylvania
3401 Market St. Suite 320
Philadelphia, PA 19104-3308
Debra A. DeBruin, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Center for Bioethics and Department of Medicine
University of Minnesota
N504 Boynton
410 Church St. SE
Minneapolis, MN 55455
Moïse Desvarieux, M.D., Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Epidemiology and Medicine
Co-Director International Training and Research Program in Infectious
Disease Epidemiology (INTREPIDE)
Divisions of Epidemiology and Infectious Disease and International Medicine,
UMN
School of Public Health and Medical School
1300 South Second Street, Suite 300
Minneapolis, MN 55454
Mary Duffy RN
Research coordinator
Division of Infectious Diseases
Mayo Clinic
200 1st St SW
Rochester, MN 55905
Ashley T. Haase, M.D.
Regents' Professor and Head, Department of Microbiology
Director, AHC Biomedical Genomics Center
Director, Minnesota Division, Great Lakes Regional Center for AIDS Research
University of Minnesota
MMC 196, 420 Delaware Street, S.E.
Minneapolis, MN 55455
Keith Henry, MD
HIV Program
Hennepin County Medical Center
Minneapolis, MN 55415
Jeremy Holtzman MD MS
Assistant Professor
Department of Medicine
University of Minnesota Medical School
Minneapolis, MN
Hubert H. Humphrey III,
Senior Fellow
School of Public Health
University of Minnesota
Minneapolis, MN 55415
David R. Jacobs, Jr., Ph.D.
University of Minnesota
School of Public Health
Division of Epidemiology
1300 South Second St, Suite 300
Minneapolis, MN 55454
Edward N. Janoff M.D.
Director, Mucosal and Vaccine Research Center (MAVRC)
Infectious Disease Division; VA Medical Center
1 Veterans Drive
Minneapolis, MN 55417
Professor of Medicine
University of Minnesota School of Medicine
James R. Johnson, MD
Professor, University of Minnesota Department of Medicine
Director, University of Minnesota Infectious Diseases Fellowship Program
Member, Mucosal and Vaccine Research Center
Infectious Diseases (111F)
VA Medical Center
1 Veterans Drive
Minneapolis, MN 55417
Jeffrey Kahn, Ph.D., MPH
Director, Center for Bioethics
Professor of Medicine
University of Minnesota
N504 Boynton
410 Church St. SE
Minneapolis, MN 55455
Robert L. Kane, MD
Professor
University of Minnesota School of Public Health
Minneapolis, MN
Mary Jo Kasten, MD
Clinic/HIV Focus Group member
Mayo Clinic and foundation
200 1st St SW
Rochester, MN 55905
Richard A. King, MD, PhD
Professor, Department of Medicine and Institute of Human Genetics,
University of Minnesota
Associate Director, Institute of Human Genetics
MMC 485 Mayo
420 Delaware Street SE
Minneapolis, MN 5
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