Most foreign aid not in line with global AIDS fight

The UN Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa, Stephen Lewis, has called the fact that funding from Western countries was not keeping up with the AIDS crisis in Africa "shameful". At a recent meeting of the Public Service Alliance of Canada, the envoy urged Western countries to set a target date for committing 0.7 percent of their gross national income to foreign aid, including the fight against the pandemic. According to Canada's Edmonton Journal, Lewis said Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin's refusal to set a target date to pledge the recommended percentage was "undermining other good work the country is doing on the world stage". The UK and Spain have announced plans to meet the funding goal by 2013, while France said it would meet the goal by 2011.