Evaluate U.S. programs to fight AIDS worldwide

Overview: President Bush is calling on Congress to pass a bill worth $15 billion that is designed to stem the spread of AIDS. Saying "time is not on our side," the president urged Congress on Tuesday to focus on saving lives. However, some lawmakers are hesitant to support the bill.

RESOURCES • CNN.com: Bush pushes $15 million AIDS fight  • CNN.com: Special Report: AIDS  • The President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief: Fact Sheet  • HIV/AIDS Country Profiles  • Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria  • Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS

After students read "Bush promotes $15 billion battle against AIDS" present the following:

1. What is AIDS? When was it first detected? According to the story, approximately how many people have died from AIDS since its first detection in 1981? What options does President George W. Bush propose the United States can take regarding this global epidemic? What is the global AIDS initiative? How much money has Mr. Bush called on Congress to pass for this initiative? How will the $15 billion be allocated? For which nations will the majority of the money be used?

2. On what existing program is the Bush administration basing its current initiative? What is the "ABC" approach? What statistics mentioned in the story point to the initial success of the Ugandan ABC approach? You can learn more about the ABC approach by reading this Washington Times article (http://www.usaid.gov/press/releases/2003/uganda030313.html). Why do you think the U.S. has chosen this approach as a model for its own worldwide initiative?

3. Why is this plan drawing fire from some conservatives? How have Democratic leaders responded to the initiative? Considering the current political balance in Congress, what are your predictions for whether or not Congress will approve the program? Explain.

4. Inform students that the history of United States foreign assistance traces its roots to the post-WWII Marshall Plan. Refer them to the United States Agency for International Development Web site (http://www.usaid.gov/about/usaidhist.html) to learn more about the history of U.S. foreign assistance. Ask students to discuss why they think the United States spends money on programs for other countries, such as programs to help to eradicate AIDS. Refer students to http://www.usaid.gov/pop_health/aids/, as well as other Web sites, to learn more about how the U.S. is responding to the global pandemic of AIDS. Encourage students to respond, either in class discussion or in personal journals, to U.S. programs to fight AIDS worldwide.

5. According to the United States Agency for International Development, "The President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief will help the most afflicted countries in Africa and the Caribbean wage and win the war against HIV/AIDS, extending and saving lives. The following countries will be the focus of the initiative: Botswana, Cote d'Ivoire, Ethiopia, Guyana, Haiti, Kenya, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia." Refer students to the Holt, Rinehart and Winston World Atlas (http://go.hrw.com/atlas/norm_htm/world.htm) to locate these countries on a map. Then, organize students into pairs or small groups and assign one country from the above list to each group. Direct students to the Web sites below to research the impact that AIDS has had on their assigned country and what AIDS programs are already in existence there. Challenge each group to write a proposal for its country to receive funding for its AIDS programs. The proposals should address the challenges faced by the country, its goals and objectives for using the money and who might benefit from the money. Students can present their proposals to the group and class members can simulate how the budget proposed by Bush might be allocated.