 |
  |
 |
|
|
BOB ABERNETHY, anchor: Here at home, U.S. religious and humanitarian groups have been lobbying Congress to appropriate the money for African aid the President has called for -- including $15 billion dollars to combat AIDS in Africa and elsewhere over the next five years.
The House and Senate are moving toward big increases in anti-AIDS appropriations, but probably at a lower level, next year, than AIDS relief activists want.
Last year, as U.S. awareness of the African AIDS crisis was increasing, correspondent Phil Jones filed this report.
PHIL JONES: For more than 20 years now, there's been an enemy that is far beyond the reach of our fastest planes and smartest bombs. It's an enemy that has, in some countries, turned burying the dead into their fastest growing business. It is estimated that over 8,000 people die every day from this enemy, called AIDS. In some African nations, up to one third of the adult population is infected with HIV.
Dr. ANNE PETERSON (USAID): I've been surprised how long it's taken for the American public to recognize the devastation AIDS is having on the other parts of the world.
JONES: Dr. Anne Peterson is an official with USAID, the federal agency that provides economic and humanitarian assistance worldwide. Her focus is on the global AIDS crisis and getting the American people to focus on it.
Dr. PETERSON: They have not realized the women and, more and more, the children whose lives are being devastated. There's a misunderstanding of AIDS both as a disease and an epidemic, and its impact on the social fabric of other countries.
JONES: The AIDS epidemic has spread more quickly than expected because many nations have been in denial about their problem, so there has not been the needed effort to deal with many of the lifestyles that cause AIDS. And to compound the problem, the hardest-hit nations are poor and debt ridden. Dr. Paul Zeitz heads the Global AIDS Alliance.
Dr. PAUL ZEITZ (Global AIDS Alliance): AIDS is wiping away parents, destroying families, and the communities are breaking down. You see the whole health system breaking down. You see the educational system breaking down. They are very weak systems to start with, that are being decimated.
Rep. HENRY HYDE (Chairman, House International Affairs Committee): The cost is staggering and we had better pay attention.
JONES: Congressman Henry Hyde, chairman of the House International Affairs Committee, is an advocate for American leadership in the global AIDS war.
Rep. HYDE: On a disease like AIDS there is a tendency to blame people for infecting themselves and so, "They got into this -- let them get out of it."
JONES: Illinois Senator Richard Durbin, another congressional leader supporting more AIDS money, has seen the children who are being left behind.
Sen. RICHARD DURBIN (Illinois): It's overwhelming. There are very few things I've seen in my life that are transforming -- a trip to Africa -- looking into the eyes of AIDS victims, people who knew they were dying, seeing their courage and determination to just live another day.
JONES: There is a growing realization that this is a crisis that developed countries have to get more involved in. AIDS has killed far more people than terrorism, yet it gets far less money than the war on terrorism.
RICHARD STEARNS (President, World Vision): The war on AIDS should certainly be a significant part of our foreign policy.
JONES: Richard Stearns is president of World Vision, one of the largest Christian relief organizations, working in countries hardest hit by AIDS.
Mr. STEARNS: The image of the caskets, the funerals, the wailing of people at these funerals -- this is real human suffering. Women, children, aunts and uncles who love each other and who are burying their loved ones on a daily basis.
The House and Senate are moving toward big increases in anti-AIDS appropriations, but probably at a lower level, next year, than AIDS relief activists want.
Last year, as U.S. awareness of the African AIDS crisis was increasing, correspondent Phil Jones filed this report.
PHIL JONES: For more than 20 years now, there's been an enemy that is far beyond the reach of our fastest planes and smartest bombs. It's an enemy that has, in some countries, turned burying the dead into their fastest growing business. It is estimated that over 8,000 people die every day from this enemy, called AIDS. In some African nations, up to one third of the adult population is infected with HIV.
Dr. ANNE PETERSON (USAID): I've been surprised how long it's taken for the American public to recognize the devastation AIDS is having on the other parts of the world.
JONES: Dr. Anne Peterson is an official with USAID, the federal agency that provides economic and humanitarian assistance worldwide. Her focus is on the global AIDS crisis and getting the American people to focus on it.
Dr. PETERSON: They have not realized the women and, more and more, the children whose lives are being devastated. There's a misunderstanding of AIDS both as a disease and an epidemic, and its impact on the social fabric of other countries.JONES: The AIDS epidemic has spread more quickly than expected because many nations have been in denial about their problem, so there has not been the needed effort to deal with many of the lifestyles that cause AIDS. And to compound the problem, the hardest-hit nations are poor and debt ridden. Dr. Paul Zeitz heads the Global AIDS Alliance.
Dr. PAUL ZEITZ (Global AIDS Alliance): AIDS is wiping away parents, destroying families, and the communities are breaking down. You see the whole health system breaking down. You see the educational system breaking down. They are very weak systems to start with, that are being decimated.
Rep. HENRY HYDE (Chairman, House International Affairs Committee): The cost is staggering and we had better pay attention.JONES: Congressman Henry Hyde, chairman of the House International Affairs Committee, is an advocate for American leadership in the global AIDS war.
Rep. HYDE: On a disease like AIDS there is a tendency to blame people for infecting themselves and so, "They got into this -- let them get out of it."
JONES: Illinois Senator Richard Durbin, another congressional leader supporting more AIDS money, has seen the children who are being left behind.
Sen. RICHARD DURBIN (Illinois): It's overwhelming. There are very few things I've seen in my life that are transforming -- a trip to Africa -- looking into the eyes of AIDS victims, people who knew they were dying, seeing their courage and determination to just live another day.JONES: There is a growing realization that this is a crisis that developed countries have to get more involved in. AIDS has killed far more people than terrorism, yet it gets far less money than the war on terrorism.
RICHARD STEARNS (President, World Vision): The war on AIDS should certainly be a significant part of our foreign policy.
JONES: Richard Stearns is president of World Vision, one of the largest Christian relief organizations, working in countries hardest hit by AIDS.
Mr. STEARNS: The image of the caskets, the funerals, the wailing of people at these funerals -- this is real human suffering. Women, children, aunts and uncles who love each other and who are burying their loved ones on a daily basis.
Dr. ZEITZ: We will undoubtedly see the collapse of societies and government in southern Africa. You are creating and expanding environments where subversive forces can take root.
Dr. PETERSON: Even if we could stop every new infection today, if we were magically 100 percent effective at stopping the pandemic right this moment, we would still have a decade of increasing numbers of orphans as those who are already infected go through the course of their disease, get sick, and die. So we are not even close to stopping the epidemic.
JONES: Each year, a population nearly the size of Chicago dies of AIDS. That's three million people. And this will continue for the foreseeable future. The statistics, the pictures of the victims, the millions of orphaned children -- it is all so overwhelming. Yet there is evidence that more government money for education and AIDS therapy is making a difference, along with increasing help and compassion from the religious community. In the words of President Bush, "Medical science gives us power to save lives and conscience demands we do so."
Revisit previous R & E reports on 
