MHS:   Source date is:     12-May-95 15:36:00 -0300 EDT

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   WASHINGTON (AP) - The government's foreign-aid agency stepped up
its campaign to stave off deep budget cuts Wednesday and Democratic
supporters in the House accused Republicans of jeopardizing U.S.
world leadership.
   The Agency for International Development highlighted
technologies it has developed for use abroad. At a Capitol Hill
forum, the agency promoted their potential to save lives and money
at home as well - such as inexpensive rehydration treatment for
diarrhea and disposable pre-filled syringes for immunization.
   AID Administrator Brian Atwood said such breakthroughs involving
research by private companies likely would not have been made
without AID help.
   ``There's not much margin in producing things for poor people,''
so government support is needed, he said.
   The campaign for foreign aid is moving into high gear as the
House International Relations Committee considers cutting as much
as a third from the $2.1 billion in spending on development
programs and aid to Africa.
   Rep. Howard Berman, D-Calif., said aid proponents are ``alarmed
by what we see as an attempt by a few isolationists in Congress to
slam the door on decades of U.S. global leadership.''
   Joining Berman and several other Democrats at a news conference,
Rep. Harry Johnston, D-Fla., predicted the United States will ``be
a secondary economic power in the world'' if foreign-aid critics
prevail.
   Rep. Alcee Hastings, D-Fla., said Republicans are embarked on
``a foolhardy policy'' that bodes ill for the future of Africa and
America.
   ``We've got to maintain our position as the leader of the
world.'' said Rep. Gary Ackerman, D-N.Y.
   Republicans characterize such rhetoric, and dire statistics
about projected child deaths from lack of immunization, as scare
tactics.
   They contend private organizations can assume much of the
portfolio now run by AID, which critics call a bloated agency
despite its 20 percent cuts and streamlining in the last two years.
   ``They are obviously pulling out those programs that draw at the
American heartstrings,'' said Thomas Sheehy, an analyst at the
conservative Heritage Foundation. ``Child survival is a small
percentage of their activities.''
   AID says cuts will set back efforts to eradicate polio worldwide
and thus maintain a need to vaccinate American children against the
threat at a cost of $300 million a year.
   The agency also is promoting potential domestic benefits of its
advances in poor countries.
   The inexpensive salt-glucose solution that prevents an estimated
1 million worldwide deaths a year could be used in the United
States in place of hospitalization and intravenous treatment for a
savings of $500 million annually, according to AID.
   Also cited Wednesday was UniJect, a small pre-filled bulb
syringe developed with AID's investment of $2.1 million along with
$1 million from a commercial producer. It can be used by nonmedical
personnel and lessens disease risk from reusable syringes.
   AID also invested $537,000 to develop a heat-sensitive vaccine
label that changes color with age. By giving health care providers
a certainty about the vaccine's expiration, the label saves $20
million a year, according to Gordon Perkin, president of the
Program for Applied Technology in Health. Perkin's company
developed the label with AID's help.
   Atwood also accused Republicans of trying to embarrass President
Clinton internationally by seeking to consolidate AID and other
agencies into the State Department. He urged them to abandon the
reorganization effort, saying Clinton ``has shown great restraint
in not suggesting how (House) Speaker (Newt) Gingrich ought to
reorganize the House of Representatives.''
   APWR-05-10-95 1740EDT
======== Fwd by: Aimee Martin ========
======== Fwd by: Judy Canahuat ========
Thought that you all might find this interesting.  We don't know how bf will
fare under the new "regime", but it would be helpful if those of you who are
interested would talk with your networks.  Much of what we do
internationally has dividends here at home.  Speaking of which, the block
grants to the states for WIC could be advantageous to bf if our coalitions
are solid because state government could potentially be more accessible to
us than the federal gov't.  The disadvantage is of having 50 different
states to deal with.  Our comparative advantage is people over money.  The
formula companies have money.  However, if we could develop our network and
improve our ability to make coalitions (that means that we must develop the
capability of being more than single issue thinkers), we may well be able to
influence people at the state level for more support for breastfeeding.

In addition, at the state level, if we are proactive, we could organize more
advocacy than is probably possible to organize at a federal level.  However,
it is important to communicate with Congress on this, especially about the
importance of including breastfeeding support and services in the guidelines
for the block grants and for continued funding internationally for this
important aspect of child survival.

Recently I attended a meeting with the INTERNATIONAL wing of the Joint
Commission for Healthcare Accreditation.  There we brought up the issue of
the resurveys of Baby Friendly Hospitals as a follow-up to UNICEF and WHO's
initial work.

My understanding is the one of the objections of the domestic JC to the
expert working group has been the cost of surveying hospitals.  However, if
UNICEF supports the initial surveys and we work together with the JC on what
could be included in their ongoing surveys and then hospitals that might be
interested in retaining BFH status could ask for inclusion of those aspects
of health care in their resurveys.   This might be a way of including this
topic.  Internationally, the JC is interested in talking.

If you are interested in discussing this privately, let's continue when I
come back from a 2 week trip or at the LLLI and/or ILCA conference. I will
be signing off while I am gone.

Saludos...

Judy Canahuati
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