Flight tax funds children's HIV drugs

New Delhi: At least 100,000 HIV-positive children are to receive low-cost drugs for life, using money raised by a tax on flying.
Former US president Bill Clinton said yesterday that the new charges on airline tickets, pioneered by France, meant his Clinton Foundation HIV/Aids Initiative had the buying power to negotiate with drug companies for big discounts.
This year the foundation will receive $350m (£178m), most of it from an airline ticket tax France began collecting this summer. The government charges passengers an extra €4 for every international economy seat and €40 for first-class tickets. Britain has given $25m to the initiative, called Unitaid.
Mr Clinton, speaking after a visit to a new ward for children affected by Aids in New Delhi, said two Indian pharmaceutical companies, Cipla and Ranbaxy, had agreed to supply anti-retroviral drugs for children at prices as low as 16 cents (8p) a day, or $60 annually.
01/12/06 Randeep Ramesh/Guardian Unlimited, UK

To Read the News in full at Source, Click the Headline