DC AIDS protesters join push to demand China gives $1 billion to fight global AIDS

The Washington DC, USA based AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), the largest global AIDS organization, is spearheading a series of US and global protests targeting the government of the People’s Republic of China to demand that it step up its commitment on global AIDS and pledge one billion US dollars to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria.

Between October 23 and October 25, protests will take place in front of the Chinese Embassy in Washington DC and its consulates in four other US cities (New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Houston) as well as in a dozen foreign countries (LATIN AMERICA - Mexico, Argentina, Peru, Guatemala; AFRICA - Kenya, South Africa, Uganda, Zambia; ASIA - Cambodia, India; EUROPE - Netherlands, Ukraine). At the protests, AIDS advocates will carry banners and signs reading “China, Pay Your Fair Share on Global AIDS!” in both English and Chinese.

The Global Fund is a program funded by wealthy nations that is designed to provide financial assistance to developing countries that lack the resources to fight diseases and build up medical infrastructures. Since the founding of the Global Fund in 2002, China has contributed a mere $25 million to the program, while countries with far smaller economies, such as Japan and Germany have contributed a combined total of over $3.5 billion, the AHF contends.