blog

Dark mood at Vienna AIDS meeting

A pall of desperation hovered over the 18^th International AIDS conference in Vienna, Austria, last week, with several participants worrying about drooping funding levels, and protestors questioning the US’s commitment to combating the deadly illness. The global recession has reduced donations to the fight against HIV/AIDS — though AIDS assistance from the US is slightly increasing, contributions from Europe, Canada, Japan, and Australia are leveling off or decreasing. South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu took the stage, and reiterated his criticism of the Obama administration for failing to spend as much as pledged (Obama promised $1 billion on the campaign trail, but recently authorized only $366 million to the President