NEW YORK -(Dow Jones)- A group of countries led by France plan to raise at least $300 million next year, mostly through taxes on airline tickets, to help pay for the treatment of children with AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, The New York Times reports in its Tuesday edition, citing a senior French official.
The countries, acting through a Geneva-based organization called Unitaid, plan to pool their buying power and have asked former U.S. President Bill Clinton's foundation to negotiate with drug companies for volume discounts, the paper reported.
The countries - France, Brazil, the U.K., Norway and Chile - will announce the new undertaking Tuesday at the U.N., The Times reported.
France is the dominant donor to Unitaid, providing $250 million of the $300 million for next year, all from an airline ticket tax it began collecting this summer, the report said.

Mieko has ticket for Maui

There is less than a month to go before the best off-road triathletes on the planet head to Maui for the Nissan XTERRA World Championships and Saipan's Mieko Motoyoshi is just about all set to race for first place.After hearing about her situation, a number of local athletes and friends teamed up to help Mieko get her airline ticket by donating frequent flier miles, and the support continues to roll in for the spirited racer.Mieko will actually be taking off from the Francisco C. Ada International Airport on Oct. 24, and while her yellow and blue Giant mountain bike is a fine machine, she was recently lent a tricked out Cannondale two-wheeler from fellow triathlete Kanae Quinn to use for the race."Kanae said that her bike was much lighter than mine and let me use it. It's great. I am already training with it," said Mieko.That's not the only donation that came the Pacific Islands Club Clubmate's way as Taga Inc., better know as the folks who organize the Tagaman Triathlon, presented Mieko with a $500 check to help her represent Saipan in Maui.Organizers recognized her spirit and determination that brought her to the finish line in both of the signature events, and the people she works with noticed to.