International Year of Decision: Interview with Paul Boneberg of Global AIDS Action Network

1994 will be a watershed year for international AIDS policy.
But U.S. AIDS organizations are unaware of what is happening,
so they have had no voice in the decisions. To outline some
of the major policy issues of 1994, we interviewed Paul
Boneberg of Global AIDS Action Network (GAAN). GAAN is a new
effort to help AIDS organizations, in the U.S. and other
countries, advocate effectively with the AIDS programs of
international agencies, and the international AIDS programs
of their own governments.

GAAN founder Paul Boneberg also founded the San Francisco-
based Mobilization Against AIDS, and was its executive
director for nine years; recently he left to start GAAN. He
is interviewed by AIDS TREATMENT NEWS publisher John S.
James, who recently joined GAAN's founding board.

James: Why is 1994 an important year for global AIDS
programs?

Boneberg: In 1994 some of the most significant policy and
program developments on global AIDS issues will be decided.
In the U.S., the entire foreign-assistance programs are being
restructured. And within the United Nations, all the AIDS
programs, both within the World Health Organization and
beyond it, are being reorganized. Also, the highest level
proposal for political action on AIDS has occurred in the
recent French call for a world AIDS summit, to take place in
Paris in June. And there are ongoing issues of human rights,
and also of the involvement of non-governmental organizations
(NGOs) in all these processes.

1994 is the year in which AIDS activists can alter the
structure of global AIDS programs, and influence global AIDS
policy.

James: Nothing has appeared in the U.S. press about the U.N.
reforms; the AIDS community and the general public have been
in the dark. What have you learned so far? What kinds of
outcomes are possible?

Boneberg: A consolidated program including the World Health
Organization (WHO), UNICEF (United Nations Children's Fund),
UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural
Organization), and UNDP (the United Nations Development
Program), will be created. It will involve all these
agencies, but be at a higher level; the director will be
appointed by the Secretary General, Boutros Boutros-Ghali.

They're doing this to resolve conflicts and competition
between those agencies. They're also hoping to get the
nations of the world to spend more money on AIDS programs.

The United States government has led this reform effort.
Hopefully it will succeed in creating an improved program,
and will increase U.S. support for that program.

James: What is known about France's call for the
international summit?

Boneberg: The French government, the new conservative Prime
Minister of France, has shown remarkable political leadership
in calling for the highest level summit on AIDS. He is asking
the heads of state of the 14 nations that donate the most to
global AIDS programs to meet in Paris in June to discuss the
global AIDS pandemic and the world's response to it.

This will be the highest level AIDS discussion ever. In the
United States, we hope that activists will urge President
Clinton to attend; or if not the president, then Vice
President Gore or Secretary of State Christopher -- and have
the U.S. play a leadership role in getting the nations of the
world to expand their commitment to global AIDS programs.
This is an extraordinary opportunity for AIDS activists.

James: Explain the U.S. restructuring of foreign aid -- and
how AIDS will be affected.

Boneberg: The United States, in the post Cold War era, is
moving to direct its foreign aid away from being country
specific (if you ally with us against the Soviet block, we'll
give you money) to issue specific. Among the issues are
concerns such as democratization (which includes human
rights), and population control (which includes health). AIDS
is both a health and a development issue.

This movement from nations to issues is positive, something
that will greatly help people who care about issues, such as
AIDS, or health, or human rights, in improving U.S. foreign
policy.

Unfortunately the initial proposal does not discuss AIDS at
all. It barely discusses health, and only in the context of
population control. And AIDS programs within the State
Department have actually been demoted one level.

What we need to do is make sure that AIDS, though not now a
paramount issue for U.S. foreign policy, is still considered,
and is fully integrated into the overall foreign-policy goals
of the United States government. That will be decided in a
debate in Congress, and in the nation, this year. By the end
of 1994, the draft proposal that is now circulating will have
been approved by Congress, and the restructuring of U.S.
foreign-assistance programs will be completed.

James: What is being done to address human-rights concerns
around the world for people with HIV and AIDS?

Boneberg: This is among the most discouraging issues.
Although U.S. activists clearly see the connection between
human rights and AIDS prevention, that is not universally
accepted. In fact, the U.S. State Department Bureau for Human
Rights and Humanitarian Affairs did not actively involve
itself in HIV or AIDS issues. And in the U.N., the AIDS
reforms that are underway have not involved the U.N.
Institute for Human Rights, or the Human Rights Commission.

We need to say, to the people who are re-creating global AIDS
policies and programs, that the human rights of women, the
human rights of lesbian and gay people, the human rights of
other people, are critical in the prevention of HIV. For
example, if women do not have the minimal human rights to be
able to demand condom use during intercourse, then the condom
campaigns will fail. There must be inclusion of human-rights
experts in the planning of AIDS prevention programs. This is
a major goal for GAAN -- and I hope for any AIDS activist
dealing with policy in 1994.

James: How much press have any of these received in the U.S.?

Boneberg: None. There has been minimal press on the Summit.
There's been nothing at all on the U.N. programs. There's
been minimal press on the foreign aid revision, but nothing
AIDS-specific. And nothing on AIDS human rights concerns.

James: Can you give us an example of how international policy
affects the discovery of new treatments?

Boneberg: Some of the most important drugs in history have
been discovered in plants. Often they are first found by
traditional healers. Sometimes they are discovered through
screening programs run by governments or by private
companies.

Today, with the Biodiversity Treaty, many countries are
beginning to insist on receiving an equitable share of the
profits from plants and from plant genes discovered in their
territory. We have no problem with that. But there are
concerns that negotiation delays, political conflicts, or
bureaucratic gridlock could seriously delay important drugs.
If this happens, everyone involved will lose -- and many
could lose their lives. So the AIDS community should pay
attention, to make sure that agreements and arrangements work
smoothly.

James: What are GAAN's plans for 1994?

Boneberg: First, we are researching the international AIDS
programs, and included in that are meetings with the highest
levels of the State Department. We have already met with the
heads of AIDS programs in USAID (the U.S. Agency for
International Development), in UNICEF, in the Global Program
on AIDS, and in the United Nations Development Program. We
now want to meet higher level people, both in the U.N. and in
the State Department, to make sure that we understand what
they are proposing, and that they understand our concerns. In
the Clinton administration, we see the people as friendly; we
just have to get their attention. Once we have their
attention, and they reply to our concerns, such as AIDS and
human rights, then we can see if there's disagreement. It may
well be that we agree, and there won't be a need for advocacy
as such, only a need for education. Our exploring is
occurring at a high level, where it has never been done
before. No organization in the world has ever met with this
level of people in the United States government to try to
influence international AIDS programs.

Our major priority is to inform U.S. AIDS organizations, so
that they can enter the dialog and influence events when
necessary. The U.S. AIDS community has great potential
leverage with governments throughout the world, because of
the U.S. assistance programs. But until we are informed and
connected, we have little or no influence.

Specific GAAN programs for 1994 include:

* Briefings at the Tenth International Conference on AIDS,
Yokohama, August 7-12;

* Briefings and support to national delegations wishing to
visit their nation's mission to the United Nations, in
conjunction with the Stonewall 25 International March on the
United Nations to Affirm the Human Rights of Lesbian and Gay
People, New York, June 26;

* Organizing the International AIDS Candlelight Memorials
worldwide, in May (Mobilization Against AIDS will continue
organizing the Candlelight Memorials within the U.S.); and

* Leading the reactivation of the Policy Task Force of ICASO,
the International Coalition of AIDS Service Organizations.
(GAAN is already the U.S. representative of ICASO.)

AIDS is a global problem, in a world which is becoming more
interconnected at an accelerating pace. To pursue U.S.
domestic policy blindly, without at least an awareness of
international events and issues, is dangerous. The global
forum is increasingly important; if we default, we leave it
to others with their agendas. To collectively ignore
international programs and agencies is to abandon our future.

Join the Global Network

* Organizational support. GAAN will only work if it is
supported by many AIDS organizations, both in the U.S. and in
other countries. Organization dues are low -- for example,
$100 per year for groups with annual budgets from $100,000 to
$500,000. Dues are waived for organizations with annual
budgets under $100,000. In return, organizations receive
briefing papers and reports, in-person briefings, and a
newsletter -- and the chance to be involved and represented
in global AIDS policy, at far less cost than in-house staff
would require.

* Specialist volunteers. GAAN needs specialists in global
issues; in the culture, language, or governance of specific
nations; in multinational agencies, such as the World Bank
(or persons who have served in any nation's foreign service);
or in relevant international technologies, such as the
Internet.

* Seed money. GAAN needs help from individuals to get through
the first two years, until organizational memberships and
foundation grants are in place to provide ongoing support.
Individual memberships are available, as is recognition on
GAAN materials, including the letterhead; on the other hand,
you can contribute anonymously if you want.

GAAN's total budget for 1994 is $82,500. This money is not
yet in hand, meaning that GAAN can happen only with your
support. Paul Boneberg and Donna Rae Palmer (who is
coordinating the International AIDS Candlelight Memorials)
are donating their work at this time, but staff support, as
well as increased funding for printing, postage, etc., will
be essential for the organization to fulfill its potential.

To contribute, send a check to GAAN, attn: Donna Rae Palmer,
P.O. Box 376, Lagunitas, California, 94938. If your
contribution must be tax deductible, you can restrict the
funds to the International Candlelight Memorials; in that
case, write the check to the GAAN Candlelight Fund, and it
will go through GAAN's fiscal sponsor for the Candlelight.

GAAN is a nonprofit organization governed by a board of
directors. The founding board includes Reggie Williams,
executive director, National Task Force on AIDS Prevention;
Laurie McBride, executive director, LIFE AIDS Lobby; Dr.
Joyce Hunter, president, National Lesbian and Gay Health
Foundation; and Dr. Tom Lloyd, co-chair, Mobilization Against
AIDS.

For more information, write to GAAN, or call Paul Boneberg at
415/488-1453, or send email to Internet address
globalaids@aol.com.