Douglas Alexander: “My purpose this evening is very briefly to make a few comments about the visit to four countries in Africa that six…”

“My purpose this evening is very briefly to make a few comments about the visit to four countries in Africa that six Members of this body took during the last 2 weeks of August. The delegation was led by the majority leader, Senator Bill Frist of Tennessee. It included the distinguished Presiding Officer, the Senator from Minnesota. I was there and three others. We visited four countries: South Africa, Mozambique, Botswana, and Namibia. It was an eye-opening and, for me, an eye-popping experience in many cases. I have the privilege of serving as the chairman of the Subcommittee on African Affairs, so I am very interested in Africa. It was my second visit there in the last 3 years. Before I make a few comments about it, I want to simply observe how much we owe Senator Frist, our majority leader, for teaching us a great deal not just about Africa but about the HIV/AIDS problem which was the subject of our visit to Africa. Senator Frist has been there a long time. When nobody else much was talking about HIV/AIDS, he was. He helped change some very important minds in this body. He has been an important adviser to the President of the United States and is an inspiration to us. When we left to come home after 10 days, he stayed for 5 days, went to Kenya and Sudan, and operated on people who have very little medical care, which he has done every year. We owe him a lot for his leadership on the subject.”