[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 6]
[House]
[Page 8244]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                             AIDS IN AFRICA

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Rush) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. RUSH. Mr. Speaker, each day, 16,000 more people become infected 
with HIV/AIDS. Nowhere is this staggering figure more apparent than 
sub-Saharan Africa, where 25 million people are HIV positive. Last year 
alone, 2.4 million sub-Saharan Africans died of HIV/AIDS. One 
particular group deserves our particular attention and assistance due 
to the disproportionate burden that they have borne, that is, the women 
of sub-Saharan Africa.
  Sub-Saharan African women are now the fastest growing HIV population 
in Africa. They constitute 55 percent of all adult HIV infections in 
the entire region. Most disturbing, sub-Saharan African women are 
becoming infected at earlier ages than their male counterparts. Teenage 
girls are infected at a rate five to six times greater than their male 
counterparts. Of course, the escalation of HIV/AIDS among sub-Saharan 
African women has a direct and important impact upon the most 
vulnerable population in the sub-Saharan region, its impact on 
children. Two-thirds of the 500,000 orphaned children in Africa lost 
parents to HIV/AIDS. Over 30 percent of children born to HIV positive 
women will develop pediatric AIDS.

                              {time}  1915

  I have personally witnessed the orphanages overflowing with children 
who have lost parents to this disease, and it is both astonishing and 
heart-wrenching.
  Mr. Speaker, many social factors have resulted in these staggering 
statistics. Sub-Saharan African women often suffer from lower social 
status and lower economic status. They are economically dependent on 
males in their society. Many do not have the same access to health care 
or education as their male counterparts.
  Also, despite the fact that many women are primary sources of income 
for their families, poverty abounds and abounds and abounds and 
abounds. This pervasive policy of poverty forces many women into 
vocations which make them more susceptible to HIV/AIDS.
  These inequalities, Mr. Speaker, begin early in life. Young girls are 
less likely to be informed about the risks and dangers of HIV/AIDS and 
also far more likely than boys to be coerced or even raped. Even when 
they are taught about prevention, they are often unable to avoid unsafe 
sexual practices because of their lack of social influence.
  Mr. Speaker, many of us may ask, what can we in this country do to 
change the status of women in sub-Saharan Africa? Well, there are many 
things that we can do. There are many things that we can and must do 
right now.

  Right now, Mr. Speaker, we must focus national and international 
policies toward the eradication of poverty in order to empower women. 
Right now, Mr. Speaker, we must affirm the human rights of girls and 
women to equal access to education, skills training and employment 
opportunities. Right now, Mr. Speaker, we must intensify efforts to 
determine the best policies and programs to prevent women and young 
girls from becoming infected with HIV/AIDS.
  Mr. Speaker, there is a lot we can do and we must do it right now.

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