[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 77 (Monday, June 13, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6348-S6349]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                                 AFRICA

  Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, this morning, President Bush, accompanied 
by the Presidents of five African States--Botswana, Ghana, Niger, 
Mozambique, and Namibia--announced the African Growth and Opportunity 
Act forum that will be held in July of this year in Senegal.
  At that joint meeting and announcement of the Senegal meeting, I had 
the opportunity to sit down and talk with each of these African 
leaders, the Presidents of their respective countries, about the 
particular challenges their countries face and how the United States of 
America, working in partnership with them, can help.
  We discussed our continuing efforts to help the nations of Africa 
fight disease and hunger and to develop sound, healthy, and accountable 
governance.
  In our conversations, I underscored the need for continued political 
reform, for economic development, for investment in human capital, 
especially as we combat an issue the President talked a lot about 
earlier in the press announcement, and that is the tyranny of HIV/AIDS. 
We also discussed the President's plan to offer additional emergency 
aid to Africa at the upcoming G8 summit in July. This money is in 
addition to the $674 million the President announced last week during 
Prime Minister Tony Blair's visit to Washington.
  Needless to say, the African Presidents were overwhelmed by these 
initiatives. They were impressed by the leadership of Prime Minister 
Blair and President Bush and by the generosity of the American people.
  Meanwhile, on Saturday, in what Treasury Secretary John Snow called 
an achievement of historic proportions, the G8, led by the United 
States and the United Kingdom, agreed to cancel more than $40 billion 
in debt owed by 18 of the world's poorest countries, including 14 
African nations.
  Two hundred and eighty million African citizens will no longer labor 
under massive debtloads that have been crippling their ability to grow 
and prosper. This agreement wipes the slate clean. Their governments 
will see a combined savings of an estimated $1.5 billion a year. As we 
discussed this morning, their challenge now is to invest those savings 
wisely and effectively.
  If this money is used wisely, the people of these countries will see 
better education, cleaner water, less disease, and live better and more 
productive lives. Countries such as Rwanda, Uganda, Zambia, 
Mozambique--all will be

[[Page S6349]]

better able to focus their resources on economic development, 
education, health, infrastructure, and all the fundamentals that we 
know help to build prosperity.
  They will be able to once and for all break the loan-debt-forgiveness 
cycle that has undermined their ability to grow and to invest.
  Saturday's agreement will help many of Africa's poorest countries get 
on their feet and make meaningful strides toward the future.
  President Bush and the Republican-led Congress have been steadfast 
supporters of Africa's development. I personally have had the 
opportunity to visit the continent of Africa on eight separate 
occasions, both as majority leader and as part of medical mission work 
on that wonderful continent. We have consistently championed efforts to 
promote accountability, good governance, political reform, and economic 
growth. Overcoming the problems that afflict the continent is tough 
work, it is difficult work, it is challenging work, but we are 
committed to helping Africa realize its rich potential.
  Instead of seeing only problems and obstacles, we seek solutions. 
Instead of offering a Band-Aid, we offered smart aid. We as a country 
have much to be proud of in terms of our contributions. One only need 
to look at the statistics. So far this fiscal year, the United States 
has provided the continent of Africa with $1.4 billion in humanitarian 
relief. President Bush has tripled America's contributions.
  Today, nearly a quarter of every aid dollar to Africa comes from 
America, up from just 10 percent 4 short years ago. Yes, we really for 
the first time demand accountability from these investments. These aid 
dollars today are tied to economic and political reforms. Our goal is 
to help these countries root out corruption, to address human rights, 
to protect human rights, to promote the rule of law, and to build a 
stable, civil society, one that can meet the needs and demands of a 
growing and modern society.
  Meanwhile, the African Growth and Opportunity Acceleration Act, also 
know known as AGOA, is already demonstrating its poverty fighting 
power. Last year, the Senate passed and the President signed the 
African Growth and Opportunity Acceleration Act. As a result, U.S. 
exports to sub-Saharan Africa have increased by 25 percent and 
America's imports from these participating countries are up 88 percent. 
Economic growth in sub-Saharan Africa is at an 8-year high.
  Our goal is to break with the old approaches of the past where 
success was measured in dollars. Instead, we want real, measurable 
results, proof that the African people are benefiting from our efforts. 
And they are coming. I applaud the President for his strong and 
principled leadership. He understands that Africa can be and is a place 
of great hope and opportunity. He sees both the practical and the moral 
dimensions of America's leadership.
  Every human being needs and deserves the fundamentals of life: food, 
shelter, water, safety. Countries that fail in any of these basic 
functions become dangerous places for their citizens and potential 
threats to America's security. It is in our mutual interest to promote 
peace and stability on the African Continent.
  As a physician, I have had the opportunity to travel extensively 
throughout the continent. I have had the opportunity to perform surgery 
and operate in the oldest medical school on that continent in Uganda. I 
have had the opportunity to treat patients for war injuries, injuries 
from a civil war in southern Sudan, to treat patients with HIV/AIDS.

  From that perspective, I was so proud when the President today was 
talking at the press conference with the Presidents of those countries 
about his HIV/AIDS initiative: $15 billion committed by the United 
States, by our U.S. Congress, to combat what I believe is the greatest 
moral, humanitarian, and public health challenge of our times. I am 
also participating in an effort to help expand health care and spread 
goodwill through that health care across the globe. I believe--and I 
have had that little window to be able to see directly--that through 
the good works of many talented women and men of compassion medicine 
can be not only an instrument of health but by the delivery of that 
medicine and by the delivery of that public health care can be a true 
currency for peace.
  I have seen that real tangible intervention can help bridge the gaps 
and misunderstandings that so often divide people, that can divide 
societies. We see that phenomenon in Afghanistan and Iraq and we saw it 
in Southeast Asia in the aftermath of the terrible tsunami tragedy. 
Countless health care professionals from all over the world, both 
volunteers and government workers, rushed to that devastated region to 
offer assistance. Private companies, corporations, and nongovernment 
organizations offered services and supplies. The outpouring of support 
from all over the world, led in many ways by American efforts, was 
truly an extraordinary event, a moving testament to our shared 
humanity. That is why in April I introduced the Global Health Corps Act 
of 2005. America possesses a vast reservoir of talent, skills, 
knowledge, and compassion that can both help heal but also promote 
health, both literally and figuratively, promoting our global ties. 
This is just one of the many efforts we are making to help promote 
peace and well-being on the African Continent. We are also reaching out 
directly to individual countries to help them tackle their most 
pressing problems.
  Today, I also had the opportunity to speak with the President of 
Namibia. Namibia is one of Africa's greatest success stories. We were 
just there on a congressional delegation about 2 years ago.
  Just 15 years after attaining its independence from apartheid-led 
South Africa, Namibia has emerged as a multiparty, multiracial 
democracy with a stable market-based economy. Like many African 
countries, the greatest threat to Namibia's development and continued 
success is the spread of the virus of HIV/AIDS. Namibia is one of the 
countries most adversely affected by HIV/AIDS. Already, 22 percent of 
sexually active adults in Namibia are infected by HIV. AIDS accounts 
for half of the deaths among individuals between the ages of 15 and 19 
in Namibia and for 75 percent of all hospitalizations in public 
facilities.
  The continued spread of this disease will have a devastating impact 
on the Namibian people and their efforts to build on their already 
remarkable achievements. For this reason, it is critical to continue to 
fund the President's emergency plan for AIDS relief, or PEPFAR, to 
assist Namibia in their battle against this terrible disease.
  PEPFAR funding for Namibia has increased from $23 million in 2004 to 
an estimated $36 million in 2005. The administration has requested $49 
million for 2006, and I encourage my Senate colleagues to support this 
funding as the Namibian people continue their fight against HIV/AIDS.
  Despite its openness and competitiveness, the Namibian economy still 
faces a number of challenges. Since 1990, the annual per capita GDP 
growth rate in Namibia has averaged just 1.6 percent. The African 
Growth and Opportunity Acceleration Act is helping to capitalize 
Namibia's economic potential. Already, AGOA is estimated to have 
created 9,000 new jobs in Namibia. In addition, Namibia's 2004 exports 
to the United States under AGOA are valued at $161 million.
  These achievements I mention because they are a model for political 
and economic reform throughout the African Continent. Steady American 
support will enhance Namibia's ability to contribute to Africa's peace, 
security, and stability. The President has said America has a special 
calling to come to the aid of the African people and that ``we will do 
so with the compassion and generosity that has always defined the 
United States.''
  I look forward to working with my colleagues in the Senate and with 
the President to continue helping the continent heal and grow. We care 
deeply about the future of Africa. With time and an unwavering 
commitment to progress, I believe that together we can help Africa and 
its people share in the blessings of peace and prosperity.

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