Political Quotes

“Yesterday 1,100 people in India died from tuberculosis. Last month in sub-Saharan Africa, 225,000 people died from AIDS. Last year, more than 1 million people died from malaria around the world. The White House understands that AIDS, in tandem with tuberculosis, is literally the most devastating epidemic the world has seen since the bubonic plague of the 14th century. These diseases have killed millions. They have their sights set on millions more. The President laid out the problem well: nearly 30 million people have the AIDS virus in Africa; yet only 50,000 of them are receiving the medicine they need. The great Black Plague of Europe killed 25 million people in the mid-1300s. Last year, there were an estimated 42 million people living with HIV-AIDS around the world. There is little question that HIV, unless we take unprecedented, dramatic action to both prevent further spread and treat all those who require treatment with antiretrovirals and other medicines, will take a much greater social, political and economic toll than even the black plague. For the first time, the United States is devoting the necessary funding and joining the global fight against these three killers. The President has committed the funding, $10 billion in new money, to stem the growing tide of this epidemic; but we are not quite there.”