FAIR NEWSLETTER 

AIDS CASES OVERESTIMATED BY MILLIONS

Note: The FAIR Foundation is primarily concerned with issues of unfair disease research allocations within the USA. Although global in nature, this story is significant because it alters the perceptions as to the mortality rate of AIDS versus other diseases in this country.

A new survey by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says millions of Africans believed to have HIV/AIDS are free of the disease (see HERE). In addition, Nairobi reporter, Adrian Blomfield, reported as follows: "The survey (by the CDC) will dismay those who claim the West is ignoring a pandemic so acute it could wipe out the populations of entire African states. Scientists said the new report would force a rethink in the way the United States measures AIDS prevalence on the continent."
Exaggerated world infection statistics result in inappropriate fears regarding AIDS and result in all other diseases in the USA not receiving fair and equitable research distributions. This is especially true since, due to the lack of funds for testing, African AIDS diagnoses, amazingly, do not require the HIV virus presence, but rather diagnosis is based on the Bangui Definition (page 2) by the World Health Organization. Furthermore, the AIDS infection rate is less than one percent in every country in the world except Sub-Saharan Africa and the Caribbean. President Bush has promised 15 Billion dollars for fighting AIDS & TB in those countries. The entire disease research budget in the US for all diseases is only 14 Billion greater than that.

BUSH 2005 Budget to Slow NIH Funding Growth

Robert Pear of the NY Times reports, "Facing a record budget deficit, Bush administration officials say they have drafted an election-year budget that will rein in the growth of domestic spending. The president's proposed budget would require some veterans to pay more for health care and Administration officials said it would also 'slow the growth of spending at the National Institutes of Health.'" See HERE >pages 1, 2 & 3 The lesser sums of Congressional funding for disease research adds urgency to the need for redistribution of funds from those that are now receiving disproportionately large sums to those that are underfunded.

AIDS Activist Disruption Available to View

The disruption to Dr. Darling's speech and to the National Hepatitis Movement for Awareness Convention in Washington, DC by the AIDS activist group, ACT UP NY, is now available and you may view it HERE

NIH Scientists Collecting Secret Pay

Journalist, David Willman's, LA Times article HERE, disclosed that "some of the National Institutes of Health's top scientists are also collecting paychecks and stock options from biomedical firms. Increasingly, such deals are kept secret." The article also reported that, in 2003, more than 94% of the NIH's top-paid employees were not required to publicly disclose consulting income. The employees who report their outside income confidentially are instructed on a government form not to identify the amounts that they are paid. In a second Willman article HERE, he reports that this has prompted Rep. James C. Greenwood (R-Pa.), who is chairman of the House Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee to courageously request a full accounting of such payments. Greenwood said that he questions the prudence of allowing NIH's institute and center directors to serve as paid consultants to drug companies. "I have grave concern about institute directors having outside sources of income," Greenwood said. "It's like deputy secretaries of Defense working for Lockheed Martin."
We applaud Rep. Greenwood for his courage in addressing this issue. Can these startling revelations point to why there is such strong opposition within the NIH to altering AIDS funding favoritism?
 

amfAR Admits "Generalizing"
in USA AIDS Statistic

In its end of year newsletter that has nine different solicitations for direct donations and/or inducements to purchase items that will benefit their organization, the American Federation for AIDS Research (amfAR) states that there are one million people in the USA living with HIV/AIDS. We phoned the CDC statistical experts and they said they had issued no such definitive number. A FAIR Foundation member questioned amfAR on this statistic and amfAR Staff writer, Kate Rope, emailed"...we generalized the statistic to one million..."
Continued exaggerations of AIDS statistics are detrimental to proper emphasis on disease research for all other diseases, including the sixteen killing more Americans than AIDS. To see the full extent of exorbitant AIDS fundraising by amfAR, see HERE

Please help us in our efforts to educate America on the need for fair and equitable NIH distributions for ALL diseases by joining HERE. All member sign-up information is free and confidential. You may help us educate America on the need for FAIR and equitable NIH disease research allocations HERE

The FAIR Foundation
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E-mail: FAIR@dc.rr.com

FAIR Mission Statement: The FAIR Foundation is dedicated to fair and equitable distribution of research funds by the NIH for all diseases, including the 16 that kill a million more Americans than AIDS. A disease’s mortality rate shall be given emphasis in determining allocations and other secondary factors shall be utilized to insure diseases that cause great suffering but have low mortality rates will also receive significantly increased funding.

and please remember....

FAIR is an acronym for Fair Allocations In Research. FAIR is fair.