[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 98 (Monday, July 24, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1496-E1497]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    REGARDING THE GATES FOUNDATION'S WORK TO DEVELOP AN HIV VACCINE

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, July 24, 2006

  Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, AIDS is a disease 
that knows no national borders. Approximately 40 million people across 
the globe are infected with this virus. There is no cure, and for many 
people, no hope.
  Between 1995 and 2005, the number of people living with HIV/AIDS has 
doubled, despite efforts to prevent transmission of the disease. New 
infections among women outpace those among men as a result of gender 
inequalities and violence toward women. Ninety-

[[Page E1497]]

six percent of people with HIV live in the developing world, most in 
sub-Saharan Africa.
  Life-saving drugs to prevent mother-to-child transmission of the 
virus have been unavailable, and hundreds of thousands of infants have 
become needlessly infected at birth or through breastfeeding in the 
last year.
  Bill and Melinda Gates have done a great thing to provide hope to the 
millions suffering from AIDS.
  Yesterday, they announced that they have dedicated $287 million in 
the form of 16 grants over 5 years to set up an international network 
of HIV vaccine scientists.
  What is special about the grants is that they will be shared among 16 
research projects in 19 countries. Five of the grants will pay for 
central laboratories to test researchers' findings and foster 
international collaboration.
  Importantly, the Gates Foundation's gift will encourage the 165 
scientists receiving them to join forces. All the scientists involved 
have signed a collaboration agreement to openly share their data and 
results. This unique arrangement is designed to get an effective HIV 
vaccine quickly into clinical trials in humans.
  I have great respect for Bill and Melinda Gates, and I admire their 
desire to do good things at a global level. They are a model of 
charity. By this generous gift, the Gates are showing all of us how to 
look beyond our own borders and make a real difference in this world. 
Global health and equality are the true keys to bringing about world 
peace and understanding.

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