US Pledges 4 Billion for Global AIDS

The Obama administration has pledged to contribute $4 billion to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria, the White House announced Tuesday.

The pledge would extend from 2011 to 2013 and represent a 38% increase in the U.S. contribution to the fund over the previous three-year period. The administration hopes the contribution will encourage other nations to contribute a comparably large amount and enable the fund to provide help for more people. A statement from the White House also asks for the nations involved with the Global Fund to jointly develop an action plan that includes clear timelines and measures progress.

House speaker Nancy Pelosi said the fund has saved nearly 5 million lives in 144 countries since launching in 2001.

"This progress not only improves lives, it also brings stability and economic growth to impoverished areas," she said in a statement. "These investments are working, and this progress must continue."