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Children on the Brink 2000 updates USAID's 1997 report on orphans, and provides estimates of the number of orphans in 34 developing nations, as well as offering strategies to support children affected by HIV/AIDS worl dwide. The original report included the first international orphan estimates published since 1990 and contributed to a growing sense of urgency about the impact of HIV/AIDS, par ticularly in sub-Saharan Africa. The complete Children on the Brink 2000 will be released this fall.
Children on the Brink 2000 presents new orphan estimates for the 23 countries studied in the 1997 report, as well as 11 additional developing countries. The report also provides a summary of new statistics on the HIV/AIDS pand emic; new programming recommendations for children, families, communities, and governments; and an updated overview of actions taken by international organizations to assist families and children affected by HIV/AIDS. The executive summary of Children on the Brink 2000 is available at www.usaid.gov.
The U.S. Agency for International Development is the U.S. government agency that provides development and humanitarian assistance worldwide.
Ms. LEE. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Watt).
Mr. WATT of North Carolina. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentlewoman from California for yielding me this time and for bringing this important issue to the floor of the House.
We have made a substantial amount of progress in our country in dealing with AIDS and HIV. Unfortunately, that same kind of progress has not been evident in Africa wher e 10 percent of the world's population resides, but nearly 70 percent of the worldwide total infected AIDS case s exist.
A number of countries in Africa are beginning to make progress such as Senegal and Uganda, and we need to do what we can in this country to assist in meeting this crisis, not only here in our country, but worldwide. I cannot think of any other issue that is more important to address than the HIV/AIDS cris is in the world. Therefore, I rise in support of the gentlewoman's amendment.
Ms. LEE. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson-Lee).
(Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)
Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Chairman, let me thank the
gentlewoman from California for her leadership. Mr. Chairman, $42 million.
Juxtapose that against the $82 million, only 16 percent of what the
administration asked for, to relieve the burden of debt on these countries so
that they could at least deal with this travesty of AIDS. For us to be on this floor tonight in the most prosperous
times, when the gentleman from Alabama indicated that we merely would be missing
a Sunday newspaper if we did not provide debt relief or, in this instance, maybe
a candy bar if we put $42 million against a nation of 200 million plus people in
the United States of America. How can we reject the opportunity to provide funds
to eliminate 4-year-olds taking care of dying relatives. It is an outrage that
we even have to diminish the request to this amount.
Mr. Chairman, I would only say to my colleagues, when they
begin to talk about a tragedy of this size, they are beginning to talk about a
continent that not withstands this attack, but falls to this attack. We cannot
do any less than to support the amendment of the gentlewoman from California and
stand up against this terrible tragedy.
Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of the amendment by my
democratic colleague Representative BARBARA LEE from California in an
amendment to H.R. 4811, the Foreign Appropriations bill before this body. This
amendment if adopted would make an additional $100 million available to the
World Bank AIDS Mars hall Plan
Trust Fund.
HIV/AIDS has
been declared the world's deadliest disease by the World Health
Organization. HIV/AIDS has become
a plague on the Continent of Africa of
b iblical proportions by claiming over 18 million lives in recent
decades. This crisis is having a direct impact on the future viability of many
sub-Saharan African communities. For this reason, I am joining Congresswoman
LEE of California in support of additional funding for the World Bank's
effort to fight the spread of the deadly HIV/AIDS epi demic in Africa.
This amendment would fund the World Bank AIDS Mars hall Plan Trust Fund at $100
million. This will allow the trust fund to distribute additional resources
through directed grants so that an effect response can be mounted against the
HIV/AIDS trag edy, which is being
played out in too many African nations.
According to the UNAIDS Update report released last week on
HIV/AIDS infe cted rates in many
countries up to 35 percent of all adults are infected with the disease. The
report also estimates that half of today's teenage population in parts of
Africa will perish from
HIV/AIDS. The most vulnerable
group being affected by HIV/AIDS is
t he women of Africa; the
ir infection rate is far greater than males. About 55 percent of all adults
living with HIV are women, and this rate is expected to continue to rise in
countries where poverty, poor health systems, and limited resources for
prevention and care are present. What fuels the spread of this disease or any
disease is ignorance, misinformation, cultural practices, passivity on the part
of leaders, neglect on the part of those nations with resources that if engaged
would make a difference in the fight to win out over the disease.
I would like to commend Congresswoman LEE for her
efforts to offer a clear perspective on the HIV/AIDS epid emic in Africa. She recently returned from Durban,
South Africa, aft er participating
in AIDS 2000 , which was the 13th
International AIDS conf erence.
Now, more than ever, the leadership of the United States is
needed in order to avert a tragedy on the Continent of Africa. The refore, I implore my fellow
colleagues of the House to seriously reconsider the level of funding that has
been appropriated for this critical area. It is critical that we join efforts to
support the comprehensive, bipartisan World Bank AIDS Mars hall Plan Trust Fund to address
this crisis.
Many people have asked why this is important to the United
States. I reiterate that aside from the humanitarian perspective, the CIA has
issued a report that declares HIV/AIDS a
th reat to our national security. HIV/AIDS unde rmines democracy and progress in
many African nations and the developing world. Left to its own course HIV/AIDS
will lead to political instability
and may result in civil wars, which may affect the global balance of power as
well as economic viability of many African nations. In many of these instances,
our military service personnel may be pressed into to service in order to defend
American interest in any attempt to bring stability to those nation's that
decline into civil strife because of the ravages of HIV/AIDS. HIV /AIDS like any plague cannot be contained in
any specific geographical area it will roll across borders of the rich and poor
nations alike. Unfortunately, when this dreaded disease came to our shores many
felt that it was a calamity for gay people, drug users but AIDS know s no boundaries. With
globalization, we also must be conscious of the potential for AIDS and other infectious diseases to be
carried across borders.
Now is the time for this body to act to remove the threat
of AIDS from our global community.
Therefore, I encourage my colleagues to support this amendment.
Ms. LEE. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman
from Florida (Ms. BROWN).
Ms. BROWN of Florida. Mr. Chairman, first of all, let me
thank the gentlewoman from California (Ms. LEE) for going to the
International AIDS Conf erence
representing the United States.
At this crucial time in this country, the world is looking
at what we are doing here in the United States, and they are wondering, what is
our position on AIDS and HIV. I
would like to have a colloquy for a moment with the gentlewoman from California
(Ms. WATERS). I know that other countries are providing treatment, they
are providing drugs. Why are we, the most powerful country in the world, who
stand on the Bible and believe and talk all the time about to whom God has given
much, much is expected, and we have some obligation as leaders in the world,
where are we on this crucial issue of AIDS and HIV?
Ms. WATERS. Mr. Chairman, will the gentlewoman yield?
Ms. BROWN of Florida. I yield to the gentlewoman from
California.
Ms. WATERS. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentlewoman from
Florida (Ms. BROWN) for yielding to me.
As we look at what the gentlewoman from California (Ms.
LEE) is doing and the tremendous work she is putting into this
international AIDS cris is,
tonight there is a category called Child Survival and Disease Program Fund in
the budget for $202 million, and she is adding to that fund so perhaps just one
or two more babies will have medicine, one or two more children may be able to
survive HIV or full-blown AIDS,
eve n.
Let me just say that what we are doing is minuscule. It is
not nearly enough. We need to do more. That is why we have to take up all of
this time on the floor to beat everybody across the head on this issue, and not
let this epidemic continue in the way that it is doing. We have to keep pushing
this issue, keep pushing the envelope, because we have not even begun to do what
we should be doing.
Ms. BROWN of Florida. Mr. Chairman, I include for the
RECORD the information fact sheet about AIDS in A frica. Today there are 34 million people living with HIV and
AIDS.
Sub-Saharan Africa has been far more severely affected by
AIDS than any other part of the
world.
Africans make up about 10% of the world's population but
nearly 70% of the worldwide total of infected people.
An estimated 18 million Africans have lost their lives to
AIDS.
2.8 million people died of AIDS in 1999, 85% of them in
Africa.
The overall rate of infection among adults in sub-Saharan
Africa is about 8.6% compared with a 1.1% infection rate worldwide.
20% of people in South Africa are infect ed with HIV and the rate has
reached 35.8% in Botswana.
5.4 million new AIDS infections in 1999, 4 million of them in
Africa.
An estimated
600,000 African infants become infected with HIV each year through mother to
child transmission.
An estimated 8 million African children have lost their
mother or both parents to AIDS.
& nbsp; It
is estimated that within the next decade more than 40 million children will be
orphaned in developing countries.
Some have estimated that approximately half of all today's
15-year-olds in the worst affected sub-Saharan countries will die of AIDS.
Community awareness has had some success, particularly in Senegal
and Uganda where the rate of infection has been cut in half.
Aside from Africa, India has more infected people than any
other nation, more than 3.5 million.
A 1999 South African study found that the total costs of
employee benefits in that country will increase from 7 percent of salaries in
1995 to 19 percent by 2005 due to AIDS.
Ms. LEE. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman
from Florida (Mr. HASTINGS).
(Mr. HASTINGS of Florida asked and was given permission to
revise and extend his remarks.)
Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Chairman, I thank the
gentlewoman from California for yielding time to me.
I would also like to thank the gentlewoman from California
(Ms. PELOSI) for the extraordinary leadership she has provided in this
measure, as well as my colleagues in the Republican party who have come forward
and demonstrated how they feel with reference to this issue.
Of course, people like the gentlewoman from California (Ms.
WATERS) and countless others have been here for us, as well as all of the
women of this House, providing the kind of leadership that we need in an effort
to speak out about these matters.
Please know this, that what we are failing to do is to
assist a continent of people who, in the final analysis, are finding their life
expectancy, according to reports in today's New York Times, reduced to 30 years
of age.
Ron Dellums, who the gentlewoman from California (Ms.
LEE) replaced in Congress, spoke often to this House with passion
regarding this issue, and now finds himself involved in this issue, trying to
avoid, ultimately, the death in the next 5 years of 35 million people.
Research and development is needed to rid this scourge in
Africa and America . Please
support this measure.
Ms. LEE. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to my colleague,
the gentleman from California (Mr. SHERMAN).
Mr. SHERMAN. Mr. Chairman, as so many speakers before me
have said, it is a shame that we are not providing more. Thirty-four million
people in Africa with HIV, a nd
even if we pass this amendment, that is less than $10 per infected person, less
than $10 per person who will probably lose their lives.
After we consider this amendment, I will call up an
amendment that will add another $10 million to this program, and shame on me
that that amendment is not larger.
We should be doing a lot more. This is a national security
problem for not only Africa but for
the entire world. This is a continent with 34 million infected people,
most of whom do not know that they are infected, that figure comes only from
estimation, so they could end up infecting others.
This is not just a problem in Africa, this is a likely disease that will mutate
and spread to various places around the world. We should do more.
Ms. LEE. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman
from Vermont (Mr. SANDERS).
Mr. SANDERS. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentlewoman for
yielding time to me.
Mr. Chairman, the horror that we are dealing with is so
unspeakable that it is literally very difficult to imagine the extent of what is
going on, but let us try for a moment.
In at least eight countries in sub-Saharan Africa,
between 20 and 35 percent of
children under 15 have lost one or both parents. Let us stop and think what that
would mean to our hometowns or our State. One-third of the children under 15
have already lost one or both parents.
I think after all is said and done, what we are learning
tonight is that we live in one world, and whether we like it or not, we cannot
ignore the horrendous suffering that is going on in Africa. Our souls will be tarnished if we do not
respond, and ultimately, mark my words, it will become a national issue, as
well.
We live in one world. We have got to respond. We should
support this amendment, and do a lot more than that.
Ms. LEE. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 1/2 minutes to the
gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Payne).
(Mr. PAYNE asked and was given permission to revise and
extend his remarks.)
Mr. PAYNE. Mr. Chairman, let me rise in strong support of
this amendment, and commend the gentlewoman from California (Ms. LEE) and
those who have worked with her, the gentlewoman from California (Ms.
WATERS), the gentlewoman from the Virgin Islands (Ms. Christensen).
Let me also admire the work of the gentlewoman from
California (Ms. PELOSI), who has for many years been there fighting for
the right causes.
Mr. Chairman, about 8 years ago I started to discuss the
problem of HIV-AIDS with Presid
ent Museveni. At that time he was totally opposed to any kind of prevention
programs, especially the use of preventative things. We talked about that. He
finally decided that he would move to having prevention and education. Now in
Uganda we have seen it level off. If we put in the correct amount of funds, we
will be able to put a moratorium and start to win the battle.
A week ago on Wednesday I was in Gaborone in Botswana. I
met with President Festus Mohae. His whole discussion at our meeting a week ago
was simply about the HIV-AIDS virus. He
s aid that his life expectancy in his country was 71. Two years from now
the life expectancy in Botswana will be at 39, they have lost that much. In
about 5 years from now, there will be a minus population growth in the country
of Botswana.
We can no longer sit by and watch the world die. Let us
pass this amendment.
Ms. LEE. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to my colleague,
the gentlewoman from Ohio (Mrs. Jones).
(Mrs. JONES of Ohio asked and was given permission to
revise and extend her remarks.)
Mrs. JONES of Ohio. Mr. Chairman, to my colleagues, in this
country today we have a societal condition of grandparents raising
grandchildren. Imagine the situation that exists in Africa, where we h ave grandparents raising as many
as 35 grandchildren.
The condition of AIDS in Africa i s a securi ty risk. It is an economic issue.
It is a workforce issue. It is a global issue. We as a country must step up to
the plate and take care of the children of Africa. They, too, are our own children.
That epidemic, that disease, can spread worldwide. Next
year we will be talking about AIDS in every ot her country, because we travel so
frequently together.
Let us resolve this issue. Let us take care of the
children. Let us take care of our families, as well, and support this amendment.
Ms. LEE. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman
from Massachusetts (Mr. Olver).
Mr. OLVER. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentlewoman from
California (Ms. LEE) for yielding time to me.
[Time: 23:20]
[Page: H5939] GPO's PDF
[Time: 23:30]
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