Copyright 2000 The Times-Picayune Publishing Co.
The Times-Picayune
February 18, 2000 Friday, ORLEANS
SECTION: NATIONAL; Pg. A03
LENGTH: 444 words
HEADLINE:
CLINTON LECTURES AFRICA TO FIGHT SPREAD OF HIV;
PRESIDENT ADDRESSES
WASHINGTON SUMMIT
BYLINE: By Joyce M. Davis Knight
Ridder Newspapers
DATELINE: WASHINGTON
BODY:
In a speech highlighting Africa's importance
to the United States, President Clinton broke from his prepared text Thursday
for a personal warning to Africans to concentrate not just on a cure for AIDS,
but also on its prevention.
"Now, I know this is a difficult and
sensitive issue," Clinton told a National Summit on Africa conference in
Washington. "I know there are cultural and religious factors that make it very
difficult to tackle this issue from a preventive point of view... But the real
answer is to stop people from getting the HIV virus in the first place."
Health workers in Africa have blamed promiscuity in some African
societies, as well as sexual practices that can make it easier for infection to
enter a woman's bloodstream, for the rapid spread of the disease. And many
people, especially women, engage in unprotected sex because they can't afford
condoms or can't get their partners to use them.
"We shouldn't pretend
that we can give injections and work our way out of this," Clinton said. "We
have to change behavior, attitudes."
Clinton said the United States must
protect its interests in Africa by helping the continent solve its problems,
such as encouraging peace, democracy and open trade and helping to fight the
AIDS epidemic.
He said he has proposed a generous tax
credit to encourage private industry to develop
vaccines for AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and other diseases
that claim thousands of African lives each year. He warned that Americans should
not feel immune as long as contagious diseases ravage Africa.
Both
Clinton and Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, who also addressed the
conference, emphasized the importance of Africa's well-being to America's
prosperity. Americans, Clinton said, can ill afford to ignore a continent that
supplies this country with 13 percent of its oil and to which 30 million
Americans trace their heritage.
"Africa does matter to the United States
-- of whatever background Americans claim," he said.
Clinton said it's
important to continue providing aid to Africa while promoting U.S. investment on
the continent. Activists have been skeptical of the administration's trade
initiatives, fearing a comparable reduction in aid.
But Clinton also
said private investment is the key to helping the continent prosper.
"I
wish every American knew that last year the world's fastest-growing economy was
Mozambique," Clinton said. "Botswana was second, Angola fourth. I wish every
American knew that and understood that that potential is in every African
nation."
The United States must promote open trade throughout Africa, he
said, to help lift its people out of poverty.
GRAPHIC:
President Clinton gives a thumbs-up as Kenyan President Daniel Arap Moi applauds
a performance by African drummers Thursday, during opening ceremonies of the
National Summit on Africa in Washington. In his remarks, Clinton reiterated the
importance of Africa to America. AP PHOTO
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