*EPF310 06/04/2003
Pop Singer Urges Congress to Boost AIDS Funding for African Orphans
(Alicia Keys is member of Artists Against AIDS Worldwide) (660)

By Jamie Martin
Washington File Staff Writer

Washington -- "The issue of AIDS should be as important as the war on terrorism, as rebuilding impoverished countries like Afghanistan, as attaining peace in the Middle East, or as any other issue plaguing the world today," award winning singer Alicia Keys told a congressional committee June 3, stressing the urgency of funding global AIDS programs for orphans.

Keys joined Africa experts at a briefing on "AIDS Orphans and Vulnerable Children: Facing the Future in Africa, A Practical Approach" conducted by the Hope for African Children Initiative (HACI) to generate immediate support from the House International Relations Committee.

"It can't be three years from now," Keys implored, "when there will be nine million more people dead," referring to the toll HIV/AIDS has taken on the continent, now counted in millions dead and millions more orphaned.

According to Hope for African Children Initiative, a child is orphaned by AIDS every 14 seconds. By 2005, there will be more than 20 million AIDS orphans around the world, a spokesman said.

Keys recently toured South Africa to witness firsthand the effects of the AIDS epidemic. She was stunned by what she saw. "It's one thing to hear about AIDS but it's another thing to experience it, to see it and listen to the stories personally," she said.

"Nothing has impacted me the way South Africa has," said Keys as she testified on her trip. "I met with amazing people who are living with AIDS. I met with orphans that were alone because their parents had died of the virus. It's hard to come to terms with what I was feeling at the time," she said.

When she returned from her trip, Keys joined other AIDS advocates in promoting The Hope for African Children Initiative (HACI), a partnership of six humanitarian organizations, including Plan International, Save the Children, CARE World Vision, Society of Women and AIDS in Africa, and the World Conference in Religion and Peace, that are all addressing the needs of orphans and vulnerable children.

This problem is too big and too expensive for any one person to handle, so everyone needs to come together, Keys said. For her, HACI offers a viable solution.

Other speakers at the briefing included Dr. Pat Youri, Executive Director of HACI, and Stephen Lewis, the UN Special Envoy on HIV/AIDS in Africa. Dr. Youri echoed Keys's emphasis on orphans, terming them "the future of Africa" and essential to the development of the continent.

Dr. Youri called on the committee to support the effort now. "If we hope to save the lives of millions of orphaned children, the U.S. Congress needs to fully fund the Global AIDS bill and commit the resources needed to build a brighter future for the children of Africa."

Lewis added: "We need a powerful, massive campaign internationally and across the prospect of Africa to focus on the issue of orphans. Frankly, we need the Alicia's of this world to give leadership to that campaign."

Keys and other musical stars have succeeded in pushing AIDS to the forefront of major international issues. Artists such as Bono of U2 and Sean "P. Diddy" Combs, along with Keys, are members of a new organization called Artists Against AIDS Worldwide that focuses attention on the AIDS problem in Africa by influencing politicians and raising funds for the cause.

Last week, President Bush spotlighted U.S. Government commitment to the issue when he signed the U.S. Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria Act of 2003, commenting that AIDS sufferers "will not fight alone because they will have the help and the friendship of the United States of America."

The legislation authorizes Congress to spend $3 billion each year for five years to fight AIDS and the Global AIDS legislation devotes 10% of its funding specifically to orphans and vulnerable children.

(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

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