Jazz Stars Help U.S. HIV/AIDS Campaign in India

Secretary of State Colin Powell enlisted U.S. jazz stars on Tuesday to help India fight AIDS and HIV, an epidemic he called “the worst weapon of mass destruction on the face of the earth.”

Next month’s concert tour of India by jazz musicians including Al Jarreau, Earl Klugh and Ravi Coltrane highlighted a $35 million U.S. effort this year to help the world’s most populous democracy fight HIV/AIDS, Powell said, flanked by Klugh and Coltrane. India has over 5.1 million HIV-infected people, second only to South Africa. Over the years, HIV/AIDS has moved beyond traditionally high-risk groups such as homosexuals, commercial sex workers and drug users to the general population. “India is doing a lot and is in a position to do a lot more,” said U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator Randall Tobias. “But India, based on the data that we have, is on the verge of a much bigger pandemic,” he told reporters. President Bush’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief has contributed over $20 million to India this year to fight AIDS/HIV, and Washington has provided another $15 million to support Indian medical researchers study the disease, Powell and Tobias said. Powell said a goal of the jazz concerts in Mumbai on Jan. 16 and New Delhi on Jan. 19 was to help conquer prejudice against HIV-infected people. “Jazz was born from the American people’s struggle to conquer prejudice and stigma in our society,” he said. “No one should be stigmatized or looked down upon.” Coltrane, son of the jazz legend John Coltrane, said “AIDS awareness is a message that we should be constantly thinking of spreading.” Coltrane was named after the influential Indian musician Ravi Shankar. He said his mother, jazz pianist Alice Coltrane, is a follower of Indian spiritual figure Sai Baba and visits India annually.(Source: Reuters Health, December 2004)