| | |  Americas & Beyond | August 2008 
Bill Clinton Renews Focus on Global HIV/AIDS Crisis
 Jonas Oliver - GayWired
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After his highly publicized comments over the weekend about the Democratic campaign that saw his wife narrowly defeated by presumptive nominee Barack Obama, former President Bill Clinton flew to Mexico City overnight from Africa, where he had been visiting projects funded by the Clinton Foundation to fight AIDS and malaria.
Continuing his renewed focus on the charitable work that has distinguished his post-White House career, Mr. Clinton appeared before thousands of gathered participants and delivered what has been described as a rousing address at a world AIDS conference in Mexico City on Monday. In the speech, the former president warned of the ongoing impact of AIDS and addressed the effect that rising oil and food prices along with the current mortgage crisis further complicated the lives of people with HIV.
"AIDS is a very big dragon. The mythological dragon was slain by Saint George, the original knight in shining armor, but this dragon must be slain by millions and millions of foot soldiers," he told activists gathered at the 17th International AIDS Conference in Mexico City where more than 22,000 scientists, policymakers and field workers are in attendance. It is the second largest conference in the history of the disease, and the largest ever in a developing country.
While Clinton underscored warnings from UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and Peter Piot, executive director of the UN agency UNAIDS about the global HIV crisis, he also expressed satisfaction in the signing of new legislation by President George W. Bush last week which will treble funds to fight AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis to 48 billion dollars over five years in the world's poorest countries, mainly in Africa.
"This is a stunning development for which we should all be grateful," he said.
Clinton, whose William Jefferson Clinton Foundation purchases treatments for 1.4 million people with AIDS around the globe, was one of a major highlight of the meeting, which was also attended by Ban and Mexican President Felipe Calderon, both of whom he praised for speaking out against discrimination.
A silent crowd of demonstrators holding banners calling for housing for people with HIV walked in front of the podium as former president Clinton spoke. |
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