Howard Dean Marks World AIDS Day

WASHINGTON -- In a statement commemorating World AIDS Day, Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean said that:

"World AIDS Day is a day for all Americans to stand shoulder to shoulder with the global community in honoring the more than 20 million lives that have been claimed by one of the worst pandemics in history. For more than two decades, HIV/AIDS has brought unparalleled loss and tragedy to so many communities and families in this country and around the world."

"Sadly, the pandemic continues unabated. Each day, 14,000 people join the ranks of the infected, adding to the more than 40 million people around the world living with HIV/AIDS, including more than one million in the United States alone. Today, I join all Americans in remembering those we have lost, in standing shoulder to shoulder with those living with this disease, and in renewing our commitment to finding a cure."

"In keeping with this year's World AIDS Day theme, 'Stop AIDS: Keep the Promise,' I call on President Bush to honor the commitments he made to ending this terrible disease. The Bush White House has talked a big game on fighting AIDS, but has consistently shortchanged the President's initiatives and stood in the way of important global efforts to curb this disease."

"America can do better than a President who breaks his promise on a matter as important as AIDS. President Bush should join Democrats in fighting to end this tragedy, first by providing all of the money he pledged in 2003 and then by standing up to his friends in the pharmaceutical industry who are stonewalling an agreement to provide generic medicines to poor and developing countries."