Elijah Cummings: “Second, we must come to an understanding that all sectors and all spheres of society have to be involved as equal…”

“Second, we must come to an understanding that all sectors and all spheres of society have to be involved as equal persons in combatting this crisis. The health sector cannot meet this challenge on its own, nor can one government or one nation. So it is imperative that we have a collective global effort to increase international AIDS spending in Africa. This collective effort must also make vaccine research and development a priority and secure access to treatment for infected individuals. We must encourage pharmaceutical companies to reduce the percentage of spending on marketing and advertising and instead reduce drug prices and increase expenditures on patient assistance programs. Passage of H.R. 3519, the World Bank AIDS Marshall Trust Act, would be an important step towards these goals. This legislation calls for the governments of key nations, the private sector, and nongovernmental entities to partner in the creation of a Marshall Fund to eliminate AIDS. The fund would provide $1 billion over 5 years for research, prevention, and treatment. When the history of our time is written, it will record the collective efforts of societies responding to a threat that has put in the balance the future of whole nations.”