On February 24, the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on African Affairs held a hearing to discuss the impact of the HIV/AIDS crisis in Africa. Opening the hearing, Subcommittee Chair Bill Frist (R-TN) said, “The cost in human life and societal and economic disruptions from this crisis demand that we don’t simply turn our backs.”
According to the United Nations, 23.3 million adults and children in Africa are infected with the HIV virus. While Africa represents one percent of the world’s population, it represents 70 percent of the worldwide total of HIV-infected individuals. Additionally, it is estimated that one-third to one-fifth of all children in Africa have lost either one or both parents to AIDS. Saying that the HIV/AIDS epidemic was “predominantly a woman’s disease,” Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) told the subcommittee that women constitute 55 percent of infected adults in Africa.
While detailing the dismal statistics, Sandra Thurman of the White House Office of National AIDS Policy said, “The message should not be one of hopelessness, but one of optimism…one to empower women…one to protect children.” She detailed the administration’s international initiatives, which include prevention, treatment, care for people living with HIV/AIDS, infrastructure development, and increasing efforts to include HIV/AIDS in foreign policy dialogue. Although these initiatives received a $100 million increase in funding for FY2000, bringing total funding to nearly $200 million, Ms. Thurman estimated that an additional $1 billion would be needed to start a truly comprehensive effort. “We are just touching the tip of the iceberg….Africa’s destiny is our destiny.”
U.S. Surgeon General David Satcher agreed, saying that there needs to be a “multi-faceted, aggressive response.” He detailed the success stories of Uganda and Senegal, where there has been a dramatic decline in the number of HIV-infected individuals due to public education campaigns and aggressive counseling and testing. Dr. Satcher attributed their success to the commitment and leadership of the countries’ leaders.
The subcommittee also heard from several Senators, who described their efforts to combat the growing HIV/AIDS crisis in Africa. Sens. Boxer and Gordon Smith (R-OR) detailed their Global AIDS Prevention Act (S. 2026), which authorizes $2 billion over the next five years to support the U.S. Agency for International Development’s (USAID) efforts to prevent HIV/AIDS abroad. Of that amount, $1 billion would be dedicated to sub-Saharan Africa.
Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) described his Vaccines for the New Millennium Act (as-yet-unnumbered), which would authorize $50 million in FY2001 and $100 million in FY2002 for U.S. voluntary contributions to the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunizations. The bill would authorize $10 million in FY2001 and $20 million in FY2002 for U.S. voluntary contributions to the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative. The bill also would expand an existing research and development tax credit from 20 percent to 50 percent for research aimed at developing vaccines and microbicides for malaria, tuberculosis, and HIV.
Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) explained his AIDS Orphan Relief Act (S. 2030), which would authorize $50 million for microcredit programs in communities heavily affected by HIV/AIDS. The bill also would authorize $50 million for food assistance to such communities.
