VIENNA — Two heavy hitters on the world health stage — Bill Clinton and Bill Gates — called Monday for a more efficient fight worldwide against AIDS.
In separate speeches at an international AIDS conference in the Austrian capital, the former U.S. president railed against spending too much money on reports that just sit on shelves and urged that funds directly target AIDS sufferers. Gates, the founder of Microsoft Corp., said health groups must adopt better business practices that deliver more results for their efforts.
Clinton said many countries are misspending foreign aid. He said funding should go directly to local organizations, because developing countries can deliver health services at a lower cost and less overhead than established organizations.
“In too many countries, too much money goes to pay for too many people to go to too many meetings, get on too many airplanes,” he said. “Keep in mind that every dollar we waste today puts a life at risk.”
The number of people taking crucial AIDS drugs last year climbed a record 1.2 million, to 5.2 million overall, the World Health Organization said Monday. Between 2003 and 2010, the number of patients receiving lifesaving antiretroviral treatment increased twelve-fold.
The week-long AIDS gathering has drawn 20,000 people.
The Associated Press
