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This is an archived USAID document retained on this web site as a matter of public record.
Remarks by Vivian Lowery Derryck,
at Ceremony Announcing A Partnership with the Nelson Mandela Children's Fund
Assistant Administrator, Bureau for Africa
Friday, 14 July, 2000
Mr. President, Minister Tshabalala-Msimang, Minister Zweli Mkhize and distinguished guests, good morning. I am an American by birth, but Africa has been in my heart since I was a small child. In the 1970s I was teaching at the University of Liberia when Apartheid was crushing lives across southern Africa.
And I was in Africa on June 16, 1976 when school children in Soweto dared to defy the enemy. Their bravery reverberated across the continent. Their courage was their own, but their inspiration was a man named Mandela. Those children laid their lives on the line that day in what would be forever remembered as the Soweto riots, a turning point in the history of this country.
Today, a quarter of a century later, African children's lives are again on the line. This time the enemy is AIDS. We must mount a battle against this scourge, like the one we mounted against Apartheid. I am proud that the United States Agency for International Development, the agency I represent, is a leader in this battle.
USAID has been battling AIDS since 1986 and this week we brought to the world's attention several important findings from our fight:
- We presented compelling evidence that AIDS has exploded out of the health sector and that every sector -from education to agriculture to micro-enterprise-must be part of the solution.
- We reported that from higher infection rates to increased mortality to economic disempowerment, women suffer disproportionately.
- We confirmed that people in developing countries want to know their HIV status, and when they do, they lead healthier lives, provide for their families and protect others from infection.
This morning, we are pleased and honored to announce a $5 million dollars partnership with the Nelson Mandela Children's Fund. The grant will empower local South Africans to rescue children who right now are in the line of fire in the HIV/AIDS epidemic.
I have been a witness here in Durban to what this disease is doing to children. At King Edward Hospital I visited babies who are fighting for their lives. The chief of pediatric nursing warned that the HIV infection rate among children in hardest hit areas is already at 35 percent. In the same areas, more than half of adults test positive for HIV.
In the absence of a vaccine or cure, South Africa faces a tidal wave of new infections and deaths. According to my own agency's major new forecast, at the current rate, in less than ten years, there will be 39 million children orphaned by AIDS and 90 percent of these orphans will be in sub-Saharan Africa. South Africa will bear a terrible, huge share of that tragic burden. Who will care for these children on the brink of disaster?
We must and can intervene now. Today, my government, on behalf of the American people, is responding to the emergency in South Africa with a range of programs tapping into the resourcefulness and courage of the people of the new South Africa.
To Madiba, to whom I presented the Star Crystal Award when I was president of the African-American Institute, it is a great privilege to engage in yet another partnership with you.
Now, it is my pleasure to introduce the U.S. Ambassador to South Africa, The Honorable Delano Lewis, another American whose passion for Africa is matched by his dedication to stopping the spread of HIV/AIDS.
This is an archived USAID document retained on this web site as a matter of public record.
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Last Updated on: July 12, 2001 |
