[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 19]
[Senate]
[Pages 25547-25548]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                             WORLD AIDS DAY

  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/

[[Page 25548]]

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.

                          ____________________