ACTIVITIES OF SECRETARY-GENERAL IN WASHINGTON, D.C., MAY 2001
Secretary-General Kofi Annan travelled to Washington in the afternoon of Wednesday, 9 May. He met there with United States Secretary of Health and Human Services, Tommy Thompson, and the United States Secretary of State, Colin Powell. For about 45 minutes they discussed the global fight against HIV/AIDS, focusing on the Secretary-General's call to action and his proposal for a global fund to raise additional funds to fight the AIDS epidemic worldwide. It is estimated that between $7 to 10 billion are needed annually over and above what is currently spent to deal with the HIV/AIDS problem.
The two Secretaries, who chair a United States task force on AIDS, said that the issue was of major concern to President George W. Bush and that the President had mandated them to work together to address the matter in a comprehensive way. They said that they also plan to work closely with the international community on the issue.
They also touched on the upcoming Special Session of the United Nations General Assembly on AIDS to be held in New York in June, the involvement of local communities in the fight against the disease and the role of United Nations agencies.
The Secretary-General returned to New York on Wednesday evening.
He travelled again to Washington on Thursday evening, where on Friday, 11 May, at the invitation of President George W. Bush, he participated in a joint meeting including President Olesegun Obasanjo of Nigeria to exchange ideas on the issue of AIDS and the global fund proposed by the Secretary-General.
President Bush pledged that the United States would contribute $200 million, the first pledge made by a Government to the Global AIDS and Health Fund. In remarks made at the White House Rose Garden following President Bush's announcement, the Secretary-General said, "This founding contribution by the United States, with the promise to do more, will encourage and energize others to act." He thanked President Bush for placing the United States at the forefront of the global fight against AIDS, and added that, as Governments prepare to meet for the General Assembly Special Session on HIV/AIDS, "I believe today will be remembered as the day we began to turn the tide." (See SG/SM/7798)
While the Secretary-General met with President Bush, his wife, Nane Annan, and United States First Lady Laura Bush met in the White House residence.
The Secretary-General arrived back in New York at noon. In an encounter with correspondents on his way into the Headquarters building, he elaborated on the Fund, explaining how it would work. "It will be a global fund that governments, individuals, private sector, foundations can pay money into." He explained that there would be a Board of Governors and "a scientific committee that will assess what we are doing to make sure that things are heading in the right direction", and went on to say that "the Governors of the board will ensure that the money is going to the people in the countries that need it, and that the communities are being engaged. The World Bank will handle the funds, will do the banking and the funding arrangements." He concluded by saying that the details would be worked out in the coming weeks.