World Aids Day

WORLD AIDS DAY -- (Senate - December 07, 2004)

Mr. LUGAR. Mr. President, I rise to comment on World AIDS Day, which was on December 1. The global HIV/AIDS pandemic is a humanitarian crisis of horrific proportions. World AIDS Day is a day to remember the millions of lives lost to and devastated by this global pandemic and to strengthen our commitment to fight this disease.

Last year, Congress passed legislation that created the Office of the Global AIDS Coordinator and pledged $15 billion over 5 years to address the HIV/AIDS crisis. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee continues to make HIV/AIDS a priority.
Charged with the oversight of the President's initiative, we will continue to hold hearings and briefings on the subject of AIDS and the progress of the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief. Earlier this year, for instance, we held a hearing focused on the intersection of HIV/AIDS and hunger. At this hearing, Ambassador Randall Tobias, the Global AIDS Coordinator, and Jim Morris, Executive Director of the World Food Program, testified about the devastating effects that the HIV/AIDS crisis is having on agricultural workers and the food supply in sub-Saharan Africa. In addition, we explored the special nutritional needs of individuals who are taking antiretroviral medication.

The theme of World AIDS Day this year, "Women, Girls, and HIV and AIDS," is an appropriate one. This disease is having a particularly devastating effect on women and girls around the world. We are just beginning to understand how women, and young girls in particular, are especially vulnerable to HIV and AIDS, due to a combination of biological, cultural, economic, social, and legal factors. Young girls constitute 75 percent of new infections in South Africa among individuals between 14 and 25 years of age. In Malawi, the National AIDS Commission has said that HIV and AIDS is killing more women than men, and that HIV-positive girls between 15 and 24 years of age outnumber males in the same age group by a six-to-one margin. Even in the United States, the disease is having a devastating effect on women and is the leading cause of death among African American women ages 25 to 34.

Not only are women and girls more vulnerable to infection, they are also shouldering much of the burden of taking care of sick and dying relatives and friends. In addition, in the vast majority of cases, they are the caretakers of the estimated 14 million children who have been orphaned by this pandemic. Grandmothers often take the responsibility of caring for grandchildren, and older female children often take care of their younger siblings.

One such young girl is Fanny Madanitsa. Fanny is a 16-year-old girl living in Malawi with her two younger sisters and a brother. Life has been difficult for Fanny and her siblings since they lost their parents to AIDS. As the oldest child, Fanny must deal with the stress of taking care of her younger siblings. They live in a modest house and share one bed. Fanny dreams of being a nurse, but reaching this goal will be a challenge for her. She cannot always attend classes, as she sometimes has to look after her siblings. Because money is scarce, she has a difficult time paying for school materials and other costs of her education.

But Fanny is more fortunate that many girls in similar circumstances. With the help of her Village AIDS Committee, a community-based organization that has organized to take care of the orphans in its village, Fanny and her siblings receive food, soap, school materials, and also medicines. Through the Village AIDS Committee, which receives support from Save the Children, the community assists Fanny in watching her siblings so she can attend school.

This June, I introduced the Assistance for Orphans and Other Vulnerable Children in Developing Countries Act of 2004. My bill would require the United States Government to develop a comprehensive strategy for providing assistance to orphans and would authorize the President to support community-based organizations that provide basic care for orphans and vulnerable children.

Furthermore, my bill aims to improve enrollment and access to primary school education for orphans and vulnerable children by supporting programs that reduce the negative impact of school fees and other expenses. It also would reaffirm our commitment to international school lunch programs. School meals provide basic nutrition to children who otherwise do not have access to reliable food. They have been a proven incentive for poor and orphaned children to enroll in school.

In addition, many women and children who lose one or both parents often face difficulty in asserting their inheritance rights. Even when the inheritance rights of women and children are spelled out in law, such rights are difficult to claim and are seldom enforced. In many countries, it is difficult or impossible for a widow-even if she has small children-to claim property after the death of her husband. This often leaves the most vulnerable children impoverished and homeless. My bill seeks to support programs that protect the inheritance rights of orphans and widows with children. Although the legislation will not become law this session, I am hopeful that, with bipartisan support, it will become law early next year.

The AIDS orphans crisis in sub-Saharan Africa has implications for political stability, development, and human welfare that extend far beyond the region. Turning the tide on this crisis will require a coordinated, comprehensive, and swift response. I am hopeful that, with the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, the Global Fund, and the Congress, we can make great strides in the battle against this pandemic.

Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, December 1 marked the 17th annual observance of World AIDS Day. HIV/AIDS is an epidemic that requires a global solution and the United States has a responsibility to lead the world in addressing this horrible disease.
Since the beginning of the HIV/AIDS epidemic more than two decades ago, over 21 million people have died as a result of this disease. Worldwide, more than 42 million people are living with HIV/AIDS. It is estimated that AIDS claims the lives of over 8,000 people per day and 5 million more people are infected with HIV/AIDS each year.

This year's theme for Global AIDS Day is "Women, Girls, HIV and AIDS" to recognize and call attention to the rapidly growing number of females with HIV/AIDS. Women, and especially young women, are almost two and a half times more vulnerable to the disease than men because of the social and educational inequalities they face in many areas of the world. Women are much more likely to be sexually abused and are less likely to be aware of the risks associated with unprotected sex and IV drug use. Women also risk passing the disease on to their newborn children. It is estimated that over 19 million women currently live with HIV/AIDS, of which 2 million will pass the disease on to over 700,000 newborn children worldwide this year alone.

Tragically, more Americans lost their lives to AIDS in the 1990s than in all wars in U.S. history. Currently it is estimated that there are nearly 950,000 Americans living with HIV/AIDS, nearly one-third of which do not know they are infected. The disease continues to spread throughout the country and we have seen infection rates among women and minorities rise at alarming rates over the last few years.

The vast majority of deaths from HIV/AIDS occur in the developing world, most notably in Africa where AIDS is the leading cause of death. While Africa accounts for only 10 percent of the world's population, approximately two-thirds of the world's HIV/AIDS cases occur there. There are an estimated 11,000 new infections per day in Africa and 57 percent of all women living with HIV/AIDS live in sub-Saharan Africa.

In addition, there have been dramatic increases in HIV/AIDS cases in Asia, Eastern Europe, and the Caribbean. This is clearly not a regional issue. The disease is spreading in every corner of the globe. The industrialized world has benefited greatly from new medicines that help people live with HIV/AIDS, but most developing countries still lack access to them in sufficient quantities. In many areas, non-governmental organizations are operating small-scale pilot programs that clearly are not adequate to meet the needs of the millions who are living with the disease. In order to successfully combat HIV/AIDS on a global scale, resources must continue to be made available to developing countries to assist in integrating prevention, treatment, and education programs into a national health care system.

There are no easy solutions to the problems associated with this epidemic. Researchers are continuing to work hard to find new treatments and ultimately a cure for this devastating disease. Halting the spread of the epidemic requires prevention and a commitment to supporting organizations that are vigorously working to defeat HIV/AIDS through education, humanitarian relief, and public awareness.

We must recognize the sobering reality that this disease continues to spread and infect people around the globe regardless of race, gender, age, or income. Remembering those who have already lost their lives to HIV/AIDS requires us to redouble our efforts to defeat the disease and prevent its spread to new members of our communities.