Political Quotes

“I also want to make special note of the work of Bono and his organization Debt, AIDS, Trade, Africa for their work in really driving the agenda of HIV and AIDS and for bringing the attention to the needs of African people. He will be here, incidentally, today in the Capitol, and I know he will appreciate the importance of passing this bill. And also, finally, I must thank my predecessor, Ron Dellums, who for many years was a lone voice in the wilderness who also developed the concept of the AIDS Marshall Plan and the Global Fund for AIDS. Quite simply, this bill, H.R. 1409, will better coordinate and address the growing problem of orphans and vulnerable children in the developing world. As we heard earlier, an estimated 143 million children were living as orphans throughout sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean. This is extremely hard to even comprehend. The rapid growth of HIV and AIDS especially in Africa has dramatically impacted the number of children who are newly becoming orphans. According to UNAIDS, today there are over 15 million children living as orphans due to HIV and AIDS, again, the vast majority in sub- Saharan Africa. By 2010 there will be 25 million children. Today every 14 seconds another child is orphaned by AIDS. With parents dying at an alarming rate, children are left without food, shelter, education, or protection. We actually saw children raising children, 10-year olds raising their siblings.…”