The Honorable Colin L. Powell
Secretary of State
U.S. Department of State
2201 C Street NW
Washington, DC 20520

The Honorable Tommy G. Thompson
Secretary of Health and Human Services
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
200 Independence Ave. S.W., Washington, D.C. 20201

Dear Secretaries Powell and Thompson,

Given the urgency of the pandemic, we call upon you and the President – expanding on efforts to date – to exercise the highest degree of leadership on global AIDS. To this end, we respectfully call on the President and you, as Task Force co-chairs, to act on the following specific measures that we believe are the essential elements of an exemplary U.S. response:

1. Commit to develop a comprehensive U.S. global AIDS plan that takes into account the many critical program components around prevention, treatment and care. The plan should be complete by December 31, 2002.
   Ensure that the U.S. takes a leadership role by outlining in the strategic plan its approach to meet the 2005 resource requirement, as outlined by the U.N. Secretary General and the Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS. The Administration should seek a multi-year approval of funds from Congress to support this.
2. Reactivate the AIDS Task Force as a functional body with a mechanism to encourage full participation–at every level-by all relevant U.S. departments and agencies, thereby taking advantage of the richness of all available resources and experience with a focus on interagency coordination. The Administration should make public all information related to the task force membership and meetings, and establish and hold open public meetings.
3. The fate of the more than 40 million individuals around the globe who are living with HIV/AIDS will depend in large part on U.S. leadership that matches the scale of this most devastating pandemic in history. For their sake–and for ours–we can ask for nothing less.

We urgently request an opportunity to meet with you at your earliest convenience to discuss the concerns we’ve outlined.

Sincerely,

Mark S. Randolph Paul Boneberg
Senior Policy Analyst Program Director
International Center for Research on Women Global AIDS Action Network
1717 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W., Suite 302 740 Oakland Avenue #314
Washington, DC 20036 Oakland, Ca. 94611
202-797-0007 510-601-8901
mrandolph@icrw.org
globalaids@aol.com

Joined by the following endorsing organizations:
ACT UP Philadelphia
Africa Action
AIDS Action
AIDS Empowerment and Treatment International (AIDSETI)
AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition (AVAC)
American Public Health Association
Asian Pacific Islander Wellness Center
CARE
Center for Health and Gender Equity (CHANGE)
Center for Women Policy Studies
Church World Service
Florida AIDS Action
Gay Men’s Health Crisis
Global AIDS Alliance
Health GAP
International AIDS Trust
International AIDS Empowerment
International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission
Pangaea Global AIDS Foundation
Physicians for Human Rights
Population Action International
San Francisco AIDS Foundation
Student Global AIDS Campaign
The Alan Guttmacher Institute
The Episcopal Church, USA
The Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States (SIECUS)
Treatment Action Group (TAG)
UKIMWI Orphans Assistance (UOA)
Union of American Hebrew Congregations
Women Organized in Response to Life-Threatening Diseases (WORLD)