US Senate approves $48 billion global AIDS funding

摘要

Following a 16 July vote by the US Senate, the House of Representatives was expected this week to approve $48 billion in global spending on AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis between 2009 and 2013. The House action would clear the way for President George W. Bush to sign into law the renewal of a respected five-year-old programme, originally dubbed the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief. The House was not expected to oppose a Senate-adopted provision that would reverse a 21-year-old ban on HIV-positive visitors entering the United States. Separately, the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases said last week it is cancelling its planned large-scale trial of an HIV vaccine, citing disappointing results from a trial of a related Merck vaccine last autumn.