As Funding Lags, Sec. Clinton to Call on Renewed Efforts Against HIV/AIDS

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton will speak Tuesday morning on the future of fighting the HIV/AIDS pandemic amid growing concerns over funding for prevention and treatment.

In her remarks, which begin at 11 a.m. Eastern at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md., Clinton "will outline a vision for turning the tide on HIV/AIDS, drawing on the 30 years of U.S. leadership in the fight against HIV/AIDS and recent scientific advances," according the State Department's Office of the Spokesperson. (Secretary Clinton's Tuesday remarks will be streamed live via State.gov.)

Clinton is expected to call for a renewed emphasis on proven prevention efforts as well as greater access to antiretroviral medications in countries where HIV infection rates continue to rise, according to The Wall Street Journal.

But implementing those goals will require greater funding at a time when global economic crises have led to a decline in private donations and government HIV/AIDS funding, which dropped nearly 10% worldwide in 2010 compared to the previous year.

"We have to step up, but the world has to step up," Paul Zeitz, vice president of policy for Act V: The End of AIDS, told WSJ. "We have this extraordinary opportunity if we work together."