Statement by Andrew S. Natsios, Administrator
U.S. Agency for International Development
Regarding World AIDS Day
WASHINGTON, DC 20523
PRESS OFFICE
http://www.usaid.gov/
Press: (202) 712-4320
Public Information: (202) 712-4810
2004-108
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 1, 2004
Contact: USAID Press Office
Today, December 1, 2004, millions of people around the globe are shining a powerful light on one of the most defining issues of our era, the global HIV/AIDS pandemic. This year's World AIDS Day observance focuses on women and girls. At the end of 2003, UNAIDS reported that women made up half of the 38 million people living with HIV/AIDS, up from an estimated 41 percent in 1997.
In response to this crisis, President George W. Bush announced an Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief - a $15 billion initiative to combat the disease in more that 100 countries around the world, with a special focus on 15 nations in Africa, the Caribbean and Asia. The Emergency Plan aims to treat two million HIV-infected persons with anti-retroviral therapy, prevent seven million new infections, and provide care and support for 10 million persons infected with or affected by HIV, including orphans and vulnerable children.
As the lead U.S. government agency responsible for economic assistance and humanitarian relief in the developing world, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), is proud to have a major role in this effort - working in close partnership with Ambassador Randall Tobias, the coordinator of all U.S. government international HIV/AIDS programs. The U.S. government, under the leadership of President Bush, has made the fight against HIV/AIDS a top priority, not only for humanitarian reasons, but because the HIV/AIDS crisis threatens the prosperity, stability, and development of nations around the world. Women and girls in particular bear the brunt of the impact of the HIV/AIDS epidemic.
For example, women are the primary caretakers in families and communities, charged with caring for the sick and for children orphaned by the disease. They are especially vulnerable to losing jobs, income and schooling in order to fulfill family and community obligations. Women are also major contributors to the agricultural workforce, feeding their families and supplementing family income with earnings in the marketplace. But when a woman's health deteriorates due to HIV/AIDS, or when she must provide care to other family and community members affected by the disease, basic community needs such as food security come under threat.
At USAID, we understand that food and nutrition are crucial for the care, support, and treatment of families affected by AIDS. In countries such as Uganda, our food aid program is improving the lives of more than 60,000 people who are living with HIV/AIDS. For example, Irene Nakitto, an 11-year old girl, was too weak to receive USAID food rations distributed in her hometown in Uganda.
She was then hospitalized and given anti-retroviral therapy for three months to control her HIV symptoms, while her family brought rations from USAID food distribution to the hospital. The treatment, in combination with correct nutrition, enabled her to gain strength and weight and rejoin her classmates at school.
A key factor to mitigating some of the effects of HIV/AIDS is ensuring equitable property rights for women. In some places in Africa, for example, widows are often denied the right to inherit and access family property. Being dispossessed at the time of a husband's death is life-threatening, particularly when widows are HIV-positive themselves. Losing their homes and property exacerbates the situation, as they may become homeless or increasingly ill and face greater levels of poverty.
In order to address these violations, USAID has helped fund a project of the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights, where advocacy efforts are underway to promote Kenyan women's rights to inheritance and family property. Today, USAID is working with local organizations in Kenya to help move strategy into action.
An essential component of the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief is making prevention, treatment, and care broadly available to women and girls. The American people can be proud that America is protecting women and girls globally and helping them and their families emerge from the shadow of HIV/AIDS.
The U.S. Agency for International Development has provided economic and humanitarian assistance worldwide for more than 40 years.
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