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Africa Policy E-Journal
AFRICA ACTION
Africa Action: Action Updates This posting contains two recent press releases from Africa Action, one responding tof President Bush's press conference yesterday and the other issued in advance of last week's demonstration at the South African Embassy in support of the Treatment Action Campaign in South Africa. Africa Action joined ACT UP New York and Philadelphia, Health GAP, African Services Committee and Student Global AIDS Campaign as co-sponsor of the embassy demonstration which brought out several hundred people. Similar events were held around the world, with groups calling attention to the 600 people a day dying of AIDS in South Africa and the urgency of action to provide treatment. [A report of the Washington demonstration appeared in the Washington Post for April 25: see http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A35426-2003Apr24.htm Also included are plain text versions of two new background fact sheets from Africa Action, for use in local organizing. For formatted versions of these and additional similar resources, see http://www.africaaction.org/action/campaign.htm Another posting today contains additional related updates from the Treatment Action Campaign, the National Association of People Living with HIV/AIDS (NAPWA), and Healthgap.
Also last week, responding to the initiative of Africa Action, the
city of Richmond in West Contra Contra County, California, adopted
a resolution to boycott World Bank bonds until the World Bank
cancells its debt claims against impoverished countries. For a
press release and a copy of the resolution, see +++++++++++++++++end summary/introduction+++++++++++++++++++++++ Africa Action Press Release April 29, 2003 Contact: Ann-Louise Colgan (202) 546-7961 Africa Action says White House still slow to act on AIDS crisis Bush promise to Africa not being fulfilled; Money needed now to fight greatest global threat to human security Tuesday, April 29, 2003 (Washington, DC) - Today's call from President Bush for quick action from Congress on the global AIDS crisis comes in response to pressure from Africa Action and other groups, demanding a greater U.S. commitment to defeating the AIDS pandemic. Salih Booker, Executive Director of Africa Action, said this afternoon, "The Bush Administration is finally beginning to grasp the gravity of the AIDS crisis in Africa, and it now acknowledges that AIDS is the greatest global threat of our time. However, the White House is still failing to match rhetoric with resources." In his State of the Union address in January, President Bush identified Africa's AIDS crisis as a U.S. priority and promised an 'emergency' response. However, the President has requested no new money for this year (2003), and his budget request for 2004 included only $450 million in new money to fight AIDS. In the Rose Garden today, President Bush indicated his support for the Hyde Bill, which would authorize $3 billion for global AIDS in FY2004, earmarking up to $1 billion of this for the Global Fund to fight HIV/AIDS. This is at least an improvement over the President's own request. Salih Booker said today, "The Hyde Bill represents the minimum that the U.S. should be doing to fight global AIDS next year and any attempts by conservatives to restrict this initiative will be seen for what they are - anti-African in the extreme. Beyond this authorization bill, money is still urgently needed this year, and especially for Africa. President Bush made a commitment to saving lives in Africa, but millions more will die this year unless the President acts to mobilize money NOW!" Booker added, "We need an emergency supplemental for this year to support a war on AIDS. After all, the Bush Administration secured $79 billion in a supplemental for war in Iraq. Even Secretary of State Powell has said that AIDS is the biggest threat on the face of the earth, yet the money needed to fight this threat is not forthcoming." Booker continued, "What U.S. policy needs to prioritize is an increase in money for AIDS this year, specifically support for the Global Fund to fight HIV/AIDS. Next, Africa's illegitimate debts should be canceled, enabling governments to spend money on health care instead of debt repayments. Finally, the White House must break with the pharmaceutical industry and support African countries' access to cheaper, generic drugs. These measures are essential to waging a successful war against AIDS." Africa Action continues to mobilize support across the U.S. for its Africa's Right to Health Campaign. For more information, see http://www.africaaction.org
Africa Action Press Release April 24, 2003 Contact: Ann-Louise Colgan 202/546-7961 Africa Action Confronts South African Government AIDS Activists Demand Treatment for People Living with HIV/AIDS; Protests today at South African Embassy in Washington, DC and around the World Thursday, April 24, 2003 (Washington, DC) - This afternoon, Africa Action will join with AIDS activists around the world in a Global Day of Protest to demand that the South African government provide AIDS treatment to all those living with HIV/AIDS in South Africa. At 1 pm, protestors in Washington, DC will deliver 600 pairs of shoes to the South African Embassy at 3051 Massachusetts Avenue, NW. These shoes symbolize the number of people dying in South Africa each day without access to AIDS medications. Africa Action's Executive Director, Salih Booker, said today, "There are nearly 5 million people living with HIV/AIDS in South Africa. They have a right to health!" He continued, "Two years ago, we joined with activists around the world to defeat the pharmaceutical industry's attack on South African laws promoting access to affordable healthcare. Last year, following an unsuccessful dialogue with South Africa's Ambassadors in Washington and New York, Africa Action wrote President Thabo Mbeki pleading for an aggressive government assault on AIDS and Poverty. Today, we mourn the unnecessary loss of life resulting from Pretoria's inaction and we demand treatment access for all!" The global day of protest was initiated by Treatment Action Campaign (TAC), a leading grassroots AIDS activist group in South Africa. Today's actions form part of TAC's campaign to force the South African government to institute a national HIV/AIDS treatment plan. Despite massive national and international pressure, the South African government has refused to support a national plan to provide treatment and care, including access to anti-retroviral drugs, to all those living with HIV/AIDS in South Africa. Salih Booker said today, "South Africa is ground zero of the global AIDS pandemic. The failure of the government to provide stronger leadership has allowed the U.S. and other rich countries to evade their responsibilities to address this human catastrophe. The lives of all of these people are valuable and the deserve treatment and care. This is an obligation of the South African government, and indeed what the liberation movement fought for." Africa Action is a co-sponsor of today's protest in Washington, DC. Other sponsors include: ACT UP New York and Philadelphia, Health GAP, African Services Committee and Student Global AIDS Campaign.
Africa's Right to Health Campaign Fact Sheet The Color of AIDS: Racism and AIDS in the U.S. and Africa April 2003 [full formatted version, with graphics, available at http://www.africaaction.org/action/colorofaids2003.pdf] "While AIDS is a global threat that does not differentiate by race or class, and is not confined by borders, it is mainly killing Black people." - Salih Booker, Africa Action "More and more, the face of HIV/AIDS is black. If we don't fight back, we'll lose a generation." - Phill Wilson, The Black AIDS Institute HIV/AIDS is a deadly global threat, and no one is immune. But some people are more vulnerable than others. At home and abroad, AIDS takes its most devastating toll in poor communities, where people lack access to adequate health care. Black people are the most affected by the HIV/AIDS crisis. Africa is "ground zero" of the global pandemic, home to almost three-quarters of those living with HIV/AIDS worldwide. The region with the next highest infection rates is the Caribbean. Here in the U.S., HIV infection rates are rising rapidly in communities of color, especially among young people. HIV/AIDS has become the new "Black Plague". Because most of those dying are poor and Black, the response of policy-makers to the spread of HIV/AIDS has been slow and inadequate. U.S. domestic and foreign policies must give greater priority to defeating HIV/AIDS where it is most urgent in Black communities here, in the Caribbean, and throughout the African continent. AIDS in Africa
AIDS in the U.S.
Why is the Face of AIDS Black? In the U.S.
In Africa
Racism and apathy cost millions of Black lives every year. The fight against Racism and AIDS will only be successful when Black people around the world come together to defeat this deadly threat to our common humanity. Take Action! If You Don't, Who Will? EDUCATE! Plan an event with your church, on campus or in your community to raise awareness about about HIV/AIDS in Africa. Africa Action can provide speakers and other educational resources. ORGANIZE! Join the Africa's Right to Health Campaign! Contact Africa Action tolearn about a local coalition in your area. MOBILIZE! Plan a call-in or e-mail day to pressure the White House to support greater funding for the AIDS Drug Assistance Program and the Global AIDS Fund: White House Comment Line: 202.465.1111. President Bush's e-mail address: president@whitehouse.gov
Africa's Right to Health Campaign Fact Sheet Africa's Debt Fueling the fire of AIDS April 2003 [full formatted version, with graphics, available at http://www.africaaction.org/action/debt2003.pdf] "Every child in Africa is born with a financial burden which a lifetime's work cannot repay. This debt is a new form of slavery, as vicious as the slave trade." All-Africa Conference of Churches Africa is the world's poorest region, and most of its people live on less than $1 a day... but African countries owe $300 billion in foreign debt. This is a huge financial burden on the people of Africa. While African countries struggle to cope with the HIV/AIDS crisis and with extreme poverty, they must spend millions more on debt repayments than on their own urgent priorities. Africa's debts are owed to rich country governments like the U.S. and Britain, and to international financial institutions, like the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF), which are controlled by these governments. Each year, the poorest countries in Africa are forced to pay more money to these wealthy creditors than they receive in aid or in new loans. This debt gives these foreign creditors great power over Africa's economies and over the continent's future. Debt is the greatest economic obstacle to African efforts to combat the HIV/AIDS crisis. Debt repayments rob $15 billion from the continent every year. This money could be used to provide health care to millions of people and to fund the war on HIV/AIDS. But it is instead being taken away by foreign governments and institutions. Africa's debts must be canceled to allow Africa's people to control their own resources and direct them towards their real priorities combating poverty and the HIV/AIDS crisis. Africa's Debt Toll The human cost of debt HEALTH. Most African countries are forced to spend more money each year on debt repayments than on health care for their people. $10 billion per year could turn the tide of the HIV/AIDS crisis in Africa. But African governments are still paying $15 billion per year to rich country creditors. Nearly 3 million Africans will die of AIDS-related illnesses this year, and 500,000 African children will die of malaria, while rich countries get richer at Africa's expense. EDUCATION. Many African countries have had to cut spending on education in order to repay foreign debts. In 2002, 10 African governments spent more on debt repayments than on health care and primary education combined. Meanwhile, 42 million school-age children in Africa are not enrolled in school. If Africa's debts were canceled, spending on education could be doubled. Africa's Debts are Illegitimate
Cancel Africa's debt NOW! Africa's debts are illegitimate and they should be canceled. Debt cancellation is a matter of justice. It is also a matter of common sense. African efforts to defeat HIV/AIDS cannot succeed until the outward flow of money to foreign creditors is stopped. Debt cancellation can make a real difference to people's lives: In Mozambique, Senegal and Mali, debt relief has provided resources to fight HIV/AIDS and to improve health care. The current debt relief plan of the World Bank and IMF, the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative, has failed to resolve Africa's debt crisis. It has given some limited debt relief to some African countries, but most are still paying billions of dollars in debt repayments each year. What is needed is outright debt cancellation. The World Bank and IMF, the main creditors of Africa's debt, can afford to write off these debts. But they refuse to do so because they want to retain control over Africa's economies. The U.S. is the leading voice and most powerful shareholder in the World Bank and IMF. It should use its power to achieve debt cancellation for Africa NOW. Take Action! If You Don't, Who Will? EDUCATE! Plan an event with your church, on campus or in your community to raise awareness about Africa's debt crisis and how it undermines the fight against HIV/AIDS. Africa Action can provide speakers and other educational resources. ORGANIZE! Join the Africa's Right to Health Campaign! Contact Africa Action to learn about a local coalition in your area. MOBILIZE! Stop one of the major institutions blocking debt cancellation for Africa by Boycotting the World Bank! Contact Africa Action to learn how to start a planning committee to urge your church, university or city council to take a stand for debt cancellation in support of Africa's Right to Health! +++++++++++++++++++++Document Profile+++++++++++++++++++++
Date distributed (ymd): 030430
Documents previously distributed in the e-journal are
available on the Africa Action website: To be added to or dropped from the e-journal subscription list, write to e-journal@africaaction.org. For more information about reposted material, please contact directly the source mentioned in the posting.
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Africa Policy E-Journal
