Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report - Thu, 24 May 2001
-----------------------------------------------
* In Mali, Powell Pledges Administration's Support for Africa
* AIDS Activist Nkosi Johnson's Foster Mother Answers Public's Ques-
tions on BBC's
--
In Mali, Powell Pledges Administration's Support for Africa
In Mali yesterday, Secretary of State Colin Powell said that the $200
million contribution to the global AIDS fund recently pledged by
President Bush is "evidence that the Bush administration won't skimp
when it comes to fighting AIDS" and reassured observers that Africa
remains a "priority" for the new administration, the Wall Street
Journal reports. The visit to Mali is the first stop on a tour that
will take Powell, one of the administration's "most vocal supporters"
of Africa, to the "AIDS hot spots" of South Africa, Kenya and Uganda.
Powell's trip gives the administration "plausible claim to world
leadership" on HIV/AIDS because it highlights "how quickly" the ad-
ministration is "significantly boosting spending on the crisis," the
Journal reports. Powell called the initial contribution to the fund a
"very, very creditable start," adding that the United States does not
have "anything to apologize about" (Phillips, Wall Street Journal,
5/24). The United States is "giving so much more to this problem than
any other country or group of countries that we should be very proud
of what we have done and be energized to do even more," Powell told
reporters aboard his plane en route to Mali (Barber, Washington
Times, 5/24). Powell answered critics who say the U.S. contribution
is "paltry" considering the country's "vast wealth" by stating that
the funds are meant as "seed money" and that more will follow (Jeter,
Washington Post, 5/24). Speaking to a crowd of "several hundred" peo-
ple gathered outside a joint Mali/NIH-sponsored malaria research cen-
ter, Powell said that the U.S. government was prepared to "do even
more" to combat the HIV/AIDS epidemic on the continent (Strobel,
Knight Ridder/Philadelphia Inquirer, 5/24). The president, he added,
has "made a commitment to do everything the United States can do to
solve the problem of communicable diseases" (AP/Baltimore Sun, 5/24).
Powell, who has said he feels an "emotional connection" with Africa,
said he does not see the AIDS epidemic "as a black problem and as a
black man looking at a black problem, but as a secretary of state of
the United States looking at a human problem" (Nichols, USA Today,
5/24). Several people involved in crafting the contribution to the
global fund said Powell "push[ed]" for a "substantial" amount of
money during two "top-level" White House meetings, which resulted in
the announcement of the contribution. However, Betty King, a senior
U.S. representative at the United Nations, urged caution with regard
to projected spending on HIV/AIDS. "We have difficulties with refer-
ences to 'massively increased resources.' While we expect to continue
to increase our support, we see the [U.N. General Assembly special
session on HIV/AIDS] as an opportunity for other donor governments
and partners in the nongovernmental and private sectors to increase
their commitments as well," she said.
Keeping Africa on the Priority List
Powell's trip has gone some way toward assuaging fears that Africa
"wouldn't get as much attention as it did during the Clinton years,"
but some concern remains (Wall Street Journal, 5/24). Powell's trip,
his longest so far, comes ahead of visits to such "traditionally high
priority areas" as Europe and Japan. "We realize the importance of
the continent, the opportunities of the continent and especially the
problems that the continent is facing," Powell said. Beside the con-
tribution to the global AIDS fund, the U.S. government has announced
that it will host 35 African leaders in October for the inaugural
U.S.-African Trade and Economic Cooperation Forum to increase market
access for African nations. Powell also pledged support for the con-
tinent's young democracies. Before leaving Mali today, Powell will
tour the African Crisis Response Initiative training center, where
U.S. troops train foreign troops to deal with their own crises. The
program, begun in 1996 as an "alternative" to sending U.S. troops
into foreign conflicts, is believed to be in jeopardy because of re-
marks made this weekend by Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, who
"indicated" in an interview that he would like to see U.S. involve-
ment in the program ended or scaled back. Powell said the administra-
tion must "balance" its overseas commitments "against our [other] re-
sponsibilities" (Wright, Los Angeles Times, 5/24).
'Ambivalence' Over Powell
Observers in Mali said a "profound ambivalence" exists among many Af-
ricans toward Powell and that his remarks during the opening days of
his trip addressed "both the good feelings Africans have toward him
and the doubts and suspicions they harbor." Powell is a "difficult
call" for many on the continent, according to Sipho Seepe, a South
African political analyst. "This is the highest position that a black
person has ever held in the United States ... There is a sense that
you have a black person and so he understands poverty, he understands
discrimination, he is more sympathetic to our humanity than some oth-
ers might be. But on the other hand he made his name in a political
party that has historically been hostile to Africa, that was an
avowed ally of apartheid in South Africa," Seepe said, adding that
Powell's military background also complicates views about him because
it is seen as "supporting American imperialism," raising the ques-
tion: "Who is Colin Powell loyal to?" Observers question if Powell's
trip, his third to Africa, is a reflection of a changing attitude by
the administration toward the continent or whether it is "emblematic
of [Powell's] independence." Abdul Mohammed, an analyst in Ethiopia,
said "Africans know for a fact that this is an individual act, by and
large, and that the system has not really recognized Africa. If his
coming to Africa prompts some significant action by the system, that
will be a good thing" (Washington Post, 5/24).
--
AIDS Activist Nkosi Johnson's Foster Mother Answers Public's Ques-
tions on BBC's
Gail Johnson, foster mother of 12-year-old Nkosi Johnson, the South
African boy who delivered a "powerful" speech at last summer's 13th
International AIDS Conference in Durban, on Monday took part in a
live Web cast, answering the public's emails and addressing critics
who charge that she has "expolit[ed]" Nkosi for "financial gain," the
BBC's international weekly program "Correspondent" reports ("Corre-
spondent," BBC, 5/17). Nkosi, a black child, has lived with Johnson,
a white South African woman, since his mother died of AIDS-related
complications when he was three years old. The pair first came to me-
dia attention five years ago when Johnson sought to enroll Nkosi in a
local primary school and was met with opposition from those who
feared "mixing" their children with an HIV-positive child. Since
then, Nkosi has become a "potent symbol of hope in the fight against
South Africa's devastating epidemic," "Correspondent" reports. Nkosi,
who did not have the funds to take antiretroviral medications, "sur-
vived on a healthy diet, vitamin supplements and minimizing the
stress of being HIV-positive" before experiencing a "series" of brain
seizures that left him in a coma at the beginning of the year. John-
son's attempt to "push [Nkosi] center stage" as part of fundraising
efforts for care centers for HIV-positive children and their mothers
-- called Nkosi's Havens -- prompted criticism from Nkosi's natural
family that she was using the child for "financial gain" ("Correspon-
dent," BBC, 5/18).
--
The Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report is published for kaisernetwork.org,
a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, by National
Journal Group Inc. c 2001 by National Journal Group Inc. and Kaiser
Family Foundation. All rights reserved.
--
Send mail for the `AFRO-NETS' conference to `<afro-nets@usa.healthnet.org>'.
Mail administrative requests to `<majordomo@usa.healthnet.org>'.
For additional assistance, send mail to: `<owner-afro-nets@usa.healthnet.org>'.