The United States will offer a total $1 billion a year in low-interest loans to 24 sub-Saharan African nations hardest hit by the AIDS pandemic, to help these countries purchase much-needed drugs and medical supplies, the New York Times reports.

The loans will be offered by the Export-Import Bank of the United States, the first time this agency has provided financing for any nation to purchase such medicines. The Export-Import Bank is an independent federal agency that usually finances overseas sales of U.S. products to help boost job growth.

These loans come after dire warnings by the U.N. and other international groups that poor nations with high HIV/AIDS rates may face severe social instability in the coming decades if the world community doesn't offer significant help.

The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) estimates it will take from $2.6 billion to $3.0 billion a year to pay for a basic effort to slow HIV/AIDS transmission from mothers to infants and treat patients suffering from other infections brought on by HIV.

James A. Harmon, head of the Export-Import Bank, told the Times he expects his European and Japanese counterparts to match the U.S. effort, which would cover the UNAIDS proposal's cost.

The U.S. plan has received approval by many in the HIV/AIDS prevention community, but observers note the program offers loans that must be repaid by financially-strapped nations.

Moreover, many people in the sector say it's now up to American pharmaceutical companies to offer even more significant price discounts to third-world nations than they announced earlier this year.

While the drugmakers are expected to offer their HIV/AIDS products at 80 to 90 percent discounts from U.S. prices, this could still equal $2,000 a year or more per person -- four times higher than the average per-capita income for the region's poorest countries, the newspaper reports.

Free registration may be required to view the article at:
http://www.nytimes.com/library/world/
africa/071900africa-aids.html