WASHINGTON, Oct. 26 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Today Senator Hillary

Clinton pledged that, if elected US President, she will deliver on a range

of bold, new policies to address global HIV/AIDS, the plight of orphaned

children, women's rights, and related issues.

Religious and community leaders belonging to two local groups, Iowans

for AIDS Action and New Hampshire Fights AIDS, had asked that she sign a

"Presidential Pledge for Leadership on Global AIDS and Poverty," which she

signed today.

In the statement, she pledges to provide "at least $50 billion" for the

fight against AIDS by 2013 and to "make significant progress toward

providing an additional one percent of the US budget to fighting poverty in

impoverished countries."

Clinton also pledged to "improve the coordination and effectiveness of

US development assistance by exploring the creation of a cabinet-level

poverty-focused development agency."

"Senator Clinton is demonstrating the leadership we need to win in the

fight against global AIDS and make our anti-poverty investments more cost

effective," said Dr. Paul Zeitz, Executive Director of the Global AIDS

Alliance Fund.

"By signing this pledge, she builds on her strong record as an advocate

on AIDS and global poverty," Zeitz added. "She is once again showing that

she is prepared to deliver on the reforms we need to preserve America's

leadership on AIDS and related issues and restore America's standing in the

world."

"In recent years, the US has made impressive strides in the area of

AIDS treatment," added Zeitz. "Keeping up the pace of the fight against

AIDS, at home and abroad, while at the same time fixing those policies that

are not working, is a moral imperative facing the next President," he said.

"AIDS kills 8000 people a day, and we cannot try to fight it on the

cheap," said Steve Howard, spokesperson for New Hampshire Fights AIDS. "We

are thrilled to see Senator Clinton taking this bold, forward-thinking

stand," said Howard. "We also need to see the next President ensure full

funding for science-based AIDS programs in the US, to reach everyone at

risk," he added.

Senator Clinton has co-sponsored important, bi-partisan legislation in

the Senate to help African countries improve their health systems, which

will help ensure aid can be fully and effectively used. The pledge she

signed today includes a promise to "increase the number of health workers

by at least one million, building local self-sufficiency."