---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Tue, 19 Jun 2001 16:23:11 -0700
From: Charlotte Utting <[log in to unmask]>
Reply-To: [log in to unmask]
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [wa-afr] FW: Rep. Waters' press release
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From: "M. Mercer" <[log in to unmask]>
Reply-To: [log in to unmask]
Date: Tue, 19 Jun 2001 14:12:19 -0700 (PDT)
To: "International Health" <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: FW: Rep. Waters' press release (fwd)
Here is an intresting view of this administration's perspectives on AIDS
and other international health issues. Maxine Waters is a congressional
Democrat from Califoria.
Mary Anne
-----Original Message-----
From: Kathleen Sheldon [SMTP:[log in to unmask]]
<mailto:[SMTP:[log in to unmask]]>
Sent: Monday, June 18, 2001 1:46 PM
To: Tarzynski, Stephen F
Subject: Fwd: Rep. Waters' press release
PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release Contact: Candice Tolliver
June 15, 2001
(202) 225-2201
Congresswoman Waters Urges the Resignation of Andrew Natsios, the
Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development
Washington, D.C.-Today, in a letter to President George W. Bush, Rep.
Maxine Waters (D-CA) urged the President to request the resignation of
Andrew Natsios, the new Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International
Development (USAID). The text of her letter reads as follows:
"I am writing to urge you to request the resignation of Andrew Natsios, the
Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). "On
June 7, 2001, at a hearing before the International Relations Committee of
the House of Representatives on "USAID's Fight on AIDS," Administrator
Natsios stated his opposition to USAID funding of antiretroviral drugs to
treat people in Africa who are living with HIV. The Administrator said that
Africans in rural areas could not use antiretroviral drugs properly because
they lack the necessary understanding of time. The Administrator said:
"People do not know what watches and clocks are. They do not use Western
means for telling time, they use the sun. These drugs have to be
administered during a certain sequence of time during the day. And when you
say, 'Take it at 10:00,' people will say, 'What do you mean by 10:00?"
"As you know, the impact of HIV/AIDS on sub-Saharan Africa has been
especially severe. Approximately 17 million Africans have died of AIDS,
including 2.4 million who lost their lives in 2000, and an estimated 25
million people in sub-Saharan Africa are living with HIV. In South Africa
alone, over 4 million people are living with HIV. That is almost 10% of the
country's population. Over six thousand people die from AIDS-related
diseases every day in sub-Saharan Africa. "The people of sub-Saharan Africa
need funds for both the treatment and prevention of HIV/AIDS. USAID should
support the distribution of life-prolonging antiretroviral drugs for the
millions of Africans living with AIDS. The people of Africa understand the
value of these drugs. They should not be denied access to them just because
some of them do not own clocks."
"The fact that Administrator Natsios would suggest that life-prolonging
antiretroviral drugs cannot be effectively administered in sub-Saharan
Africa because Africans do not use Western means for telling time
demonstrates that he is biased against the people of Africa and insensitive
to their needs. The Administrator has insulted their intelligence, while
demonstrating a reckless disregard for the value of their lives. "The U.S.
Agency for International Development bears the responsibility for
administering U.S. development assistance-including assistance for the
treatment and prevention of HIV/AIDS-to the people of sub-Saharan Africa.
If Andrew Natsios does not understand the importance of providing essential
medical treatments such as antiretroviral drugs to Africans whose lives
depend on them, then he is not qualified to lead this agency. Therefore, I
respectfully request that you ask for his resignation."
Our next meeting is Wednesday, July 25, Safeco Jackson St. Center, 23rd S and S Main, Suite 200, Seattle
7:00 PM WASAN business meeting
7:30 PM Program: "Prep for WOMAD: Primer on African Music"
We usually meet the last Wednesday of the month. For a calendar of local Africa events see www.ibike.org/africamatters/calendar.htm . To post a message: [log in to unmask] To subscribe sending a message to [log in to unmask] To unsubscribe send a message to [log in to unmask] . The egroup's archives are at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/wa-afr-network
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