Clinton Calls for Easing of AIDS Funding Rules

Former President Clinton said the United States must show more flexibility with the money it has pledged for AIDS prevention.

Although the United States has pledged to donate more money to fight AIDS than any other nation, U.S. policies often forbid using those funds to purchase low-cost generic drugs from companies in India and Brazil. This has slowed efforts by aid groups to fight the epidemic in impoverished countries, where millions of AIDS patients cannot afford expensive drugs patented by Western firms.

Clinton told a meeting of business leaders in New Delhi that “American companies have been too harsh” in pressuring the U.S. government to restrict the use of those funds.