August 2002

HIV/AIDS Called a “Foreign Policy Imperative”

Dr. Jack Chow, deputy assistant secretary of state for international health and science, at a recent conference in Hawaii called the HIV/AIDS epidemic “a foreign policy imperative.” Chow said the epidemic will “explode” across Russia, China, India, and other areas if preventive measures are not taken now. He said the Bush administration is concerned about the rise in HIV cases both abroad and domestically.

Chow said that Hawaii, with ethnic diversity and location on the Pacific Rim, has an important role to play in stemming the epidemic in Asia: “It’s not only the big populous nations we care about. It’s these island nations, where because of demographics and increased trade…the trajectory of AIDS could spike very rapidly.”