IV 
108TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. CON. RES. 180
Calling on the President to urge the other members of the Group of Eight 
(G–8) at the upcoming G–8 meeting from June 1–3, 2003, in Evian, 
France, to pledge and contribute a substantial amount of new resources 
to the fight against HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 14, 2003
Ms. LEE submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to 
the Committee on International Relations 
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 
Calling on the President to urge the other members of the 
Group of Eight (G–8) at the upcoming G–8 meeting 
from June 1–3, 2003, in Evian, France, to pledge and 
contribute a substantial amount of new resources to the 
fight against HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria.
Whereas the United States is a key participant in the Group 
of Eight (G–8) meetings along with France, Germany, 
Japan, the United Kingdom, Italy, Canada, and Russia, 
and including the European Union as an official ob-
server; 
Whereas the G–8 meetings serve as an important venue for 
heads of state to discuss a range of issues, including the 
economy, conflict resolution, sustainable development, 
and global health;
•HCON 180 IH 
Whereas the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS 
(UNAIDS) estimates that over 42,000,000 individuals 
are currently living with HIV/AIDS worldwide, and over 
25,000,000 people have already died of the disease; 
Whereas high rates of HIV/AIDS have contributed to poor 
health, malnutrition and food insecurity, the deterioration 
of education systems, the social dislocation of orphans 
and vulnerable children, and undermined the effectiveness 
of military forces, and, have the potential to create polit-
ical instability in governments struggling to care for their 
affected populations; 
Whereas the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates 
that tuberculosis is the leading cause of death among 
women of reproductive age and individuals infected with 
HIV/AIDS, killing more than 2,000,000 people a year, 
while more than 8,000,000 people become sick with tu-
berculosis every year; 
Whereas individuals living with HIV/AIDS are particularly 
vulnerable to the malaria parasite, which the World 
Health Organization estimates has infected more than 
300,000,000 people, and which is responsible for more 
than 1,000,000 deaths annually; 
Whereas previous meetings of the G–8 have supported the de-
velopment of initiatives to fight the spread of HIV/AIDS, 
tuberculosis, and malaria; 
Whereas at the 1987 meeting in Venice, the heads of state 
and the European Community identified AIDS as one of 
the biggest potential health problems in the world and 
agreed to intensify national efforts and international co-
operation through concerted campaigns to educate the 
public and prevent AIDS from spreading further;
•HCON 180 IH 
Whereas at the 1989 meeting in Paris, the heads of state 
commented on the international cooperation against 
AIDS and commended the creation of an International 
Ethics Committee on AIDS, as suggested at the Venice 
Summit in 1987; 
Whereas at the 1996 meeting in Lyons, the heads of state 
recognized HIV/AIDS as a global epidemic and called for 
greater cooperation in research, prevention, accessible 
and affordable health care services, and treatment 
diagnostics to control AIDS and other infectious diseases; 
Whereas at the 1996 meeting in Lyons, the group further 
pledged to extend various kinds of assistance programs to 
those countries hardest hit by HIV/AIDS, and expressed 
strong support for UNAIDS; 
Whereas at the 1997 meeting in Denver, the heads of state 
identified HIV/AIDS along with drug-resistant tuber-
culosis (TB) and malaria, as being responsible for over 
a third of all deaths in the world, and declared the pre-
vention of HIV/AIDS as an urgent global public health 
imperative; 
Whereas at the 1997 meeting in Denver, the group also 
pledged to provide the resources necessary to accelerate 
AIDS vaccine research, and to allow UNAIDS to fulfill 
its mandate; 
Whereas at the 1998 meeting in Birmingham, the heads of 
state again reaffirmed the importance of international ef-
forts to reduce AIDS through vaccine development, pre-
ventive programs, and appropriate therapy, including 
continued support for UNAIDS; 
Whereas at the 1999 meeting in Cologne, the heads of state 
reiterated their concern regarding the global spread of
•HCON 180 IH 
AIDS and the necessity to continue efforts to combat 
AIDS through a combined strategy of prevention, vaccine 
development and appropriate therapy; 
Whereas at the 1999 meeting in Cologne, the group also 
highlighted the importance of the Heavily Indebted Poor 
Countries (HIPC) Initiative in allowing developing na-
tions to invest more resources in AIDS prevention; 
Whereas at the 2000 meeting in Okinawa, the heads of state 
noted the relationship between HIV/AIDS and poverty, 
applauded the recent AIDS conference in Durban, South 
Africa, and agreed to work with the United Nations to 
organize a conference focusing on strategies to facilitate 
access to AIDS treatment and care; 
Whereas the 2000 meeting in Okinawa was also significant 
for producing an ambitious plan to fight HIV/AIDS, tu-
berculosis, and malaria; 
Whereas at the 2001 meeting in Genoa, the heads of state 
reaffirmed their commitment to the plan developed at 
Okinawa, and in addition announced their support for 
the newly created Global Fund to Fight HIV/AIDS, Tu-
berculosis and Malaria, to which they committed 
$1,300,000,000; 
Whereas, as a public-private partnership, the Global Fund 
would provide additional financing consistent with exist-
ing programs, to be integrated into the national health 
plans of partner countries; 
Whereas the G–8 expects the Global Fund to operate accord-
ing to principles of proven scientific and medical effec-
tiveness, rapid resource transfer, low transaction costs, 
and light governance with a strong focus on outcomes;
•HCON 180 IH 
Whereas the G–8 also pledged to work with the pharma-
ceutical industry and with affected countries in the con-
text of the Global Fund to facilitate the broadest possible 
provision of drugs in an affordable and medically effec-
tive manner; 
Whereas at the 2002 meeting in Kananaskis, the heads of 
state outlined a comprehensive set of specific strategies 
in order to help Africa combat the AIDS pandemic, in-
cluding building sustainable health systems in order to 
deliver effective disease interventions, and continuing 
support for the Global Fund; 
Whereas the 2002 meeting in Kananaskis also produced a re-
port that focused on the effect of HIV/AIDS on edu-
cational systems, including the recruitment and retention 
of teachers and their ability to reinforce the importance 
of prevention, and in the difficulties in educating the 
13,000,000 children orphaned by AIDS; 
Whereas the G–8 meeting in 2003 will be taking place from 
June 1–3 in Evian, France; 
Whereas French President Jacques Chirac indicated that 
HIV/AIDS and other infectious diseases would be on the 
agenda as a priority for the G–8 summit in Evian, saying 
in a speech to the diplomatic corps on January 7, 2003, 
that ‘‘[t]he [AIDS] epidemic is progressing faster than 
our efforts to contain it . . . [i]t is a major obstacle to 
development and to the stability of a number of regions 
. . . [w]e have come a long way . . . [t]reatments exist; 
we have created the Global Fund, which must be main-
tained on a long-term basis; we recognized [at the World 
Trade Organization negotiations] in Doha, that the poor 
countries need to have access to medicines at affordable
•HCON 180 IH 
prices . . . [o]ur task in Evian will be to make progress 
on [implementing these] decisions’’; 
Whereas on January 28, 2003, in his State of the Union Ad-
dress, President Bush announced an emergency plan for 
AIDS relief and committed the United States to pro-
viding $15,000,000,000 over 5 years to address the glob-
al AIDS pandemic; and 
Whereas on May 1, 2003, the House of Representatives 
passed H.R. 1298, the United States Leadership Against 
HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Act of 2003, to 
authorize the $15,000,000,000 pledged by the President: 
Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 
concurring), That Congress—
(1) reaffirms its support for a comprehensive 
international response to the global HIV/AIDS, tu-
berculosis, and malaria pandemics, that encompasses 
prevention, testing, care, treatment, and vaccine re-
search; and 
(2) calls on the President, at the G–8 meeting 
from June 1–3, 2003, in Evian, France—
(A) to convey the considerable and urgent 
interest of the United States to combat all 
three of these pandemics and to encourage the 
other G–8 members, including representatives 
of the European Union, to pledge and con-
tribute a substantial amount of new resources 
to the fight against HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis,
•HCON 180 IH 
and malaria, in order to complement the recent 
commitment of the United States; and 
(B) to urge all G–8 members and the Eu-
ropean Union to actively support and provide 
adequate funding for the Global Fund to Fight 
AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria in partnership 
with other donor nations, the private sector, 
and interested foundations.
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