Activists Arrested For NYC Protest Calling Obama to Fulfill Global AIDS Promises
Friday, may 14. 2010
--passportmagazine.com/blog--

Last night, eight activists were arrested for lying down in Madison Avenue to protest President Barack Obama’s unfulfilled promises on global AIDS funding. While campaigning, Obama pledged to commit at least $50 billion toward the global fight against HIV/AIDS by 2013, as well as double the number of HIV positive people receiving treatment. According to The New York Times, Obama’s promises have not kept up with inflation, much less increased to the level he promised. The flat-funding of the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) is causing some people who test positive for HIV under US-sponsored programs to be turned away from treatment.

While the protest took place, President Obama was attending a $15,000 per person fundraiser for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee at the St. Regis Hotel not too far away. Protester and ACT UP Philadelphia member Henry Benett commented, “While they are inside sipping Chamagne and eating caviar, Obama’s broken promises for global AIDS funding mean people will die because they cannot afford a ‘cocktail’ of HIV/AIDS medication.” (cont...)