In the Aug. 22 Tribune, W.H. Beck writes that ”more (media) coverage is needed of the pitifully small amount being spent by the federal government”
on AIDS.
I agree with Mr. Beck that more coverage is needed and, since he gives no figures, please allow me to supply a few (courtesy of the Reader`s Digest of August 1990).
Since the disease was identified in 1981, $4.7 billion has been supplied through federal funding. For 1991, an additional $1.69 billion was requested. That`s more than for any single disease, including cancer. That`s also more than for heart disease, stroke, hypertension and diabetes combined, yet those afflictions will claim about 35 times as many lives in the U.S. as AIDS.
I will leave it to the readers to decide for themselves if the amount being spent on AIDS is indeed ”pitiful”.
