Barbara Lee's Statement on World AIDS Orphans Day
(Washington, DC) - Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-Oakland) released the following statement on World AIDS Orphans Day, which is May 7th:
"This year as we recognize and commemorate the fifth annual World AIDS Orphans Day and the over 15 million children around the world who have lost one or both parents to this disease, there is plenty of reason to hope that change is very near on the horizon.
"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. The global orphan crisis is a profound humanitarian disaster that will be felt for decades to come.
"The truth is that in the developing world it is hard for most countries to provide care and treatment and support for children.
"There are far too few pediatric specialists who can diagnose, manage, and treat complex diseases like HIV/AIDS.
"There are far too few social workers trained to deal with the trauma and loss that children feel when they lose a parent to disease.
"And there are far too few support systems in place to help feed and care for children, to keep them healthy, make them feel loved and to give them the opportunity to go to school and get a job.
"US assistance is critical to bridging the gap for these children, and we have a moral duty to act.
"As the co-author of the bipartisan, bicameral, Assistance for Orphans and Vulnerable Children in Developing Countries Act of 2005, I strongly believe that we can and must do more to meet the needs of orphans and vulnerable children impacted by HIV/AIDS.
"With the passage of this law all of our foreign assistance to orphans and vulnerable children will now be coordinated by a new Special Advisor for Orphans and Vulnerable Children to ensure that they receive: basic care through the community; a chance to go to primary school; a nutritious school lunch; job training; their land and property inheritance; psychosocial support, and; treatment if they are living with HIV/AIDS.
"This bill will better focus our foreign assistance programs to address the special needs of orphans and vulnerable children, who are oftentimes a significant afterthought in our international programs.
"Monday marks the deadline for the administration to deliver to Congress its strategy for implementing this new legislation to ensure that all our programs in the field are working with each other to meet the needs of orphans and vulnerable children.
"Our challenge going forward today is to keep the pressure on the administration to deliver the strategy, and to make good on it by providing the funding we need to implement it-at least $400 million this year.
"These children need our help. With a modest amount of funding we can make a huge difference in the lives of children throughout the world."
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