Good afternoon, and thank you for joining us today. On behalf of the Office of the Global AIDS Coordinator (OGAC) and the Bureau of African Affairs, it is my honor to welcome all of you to the Department of State on the day after Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.
If I may borrow a line from Martin Luther King, "The time is always right to do what is right." Today we honor three women, who reflect Dr. King's ideals. Mrs. Mwanawasa, the first lady of Zambia; Mrs. Mesfin, the first lady of Ethiopia; and Mrs. Kagame, the first lady of Rwanda - welcome to Washington. We are pleased to honor the three of you for your dedication to the fight against HIV/AIDS in Africa.
HIV/AIDS is a timely and urgent issue. It affects families in Rwanda, Ethiopia, and Zambia, and across the rest of Africa. And for that reason, your good deeds are well directed.
In the Africa Bureau, HIV/AIDS is never far from our minds. Twelve of the 15 Focus Countries in the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief are in sub-Saharan Africa. President Bush's policy aims to improve the lives of those living with, or affected by HIV/AIDS.
Dr. Mark Dybul, head of OGAC, leads the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), which has had an enormous impact in only a short time. When President Bush announced this initiative in 2003, only 50,000 individuals in sub-Saharan Africa were estimated to be receiving treatment. Since then, the Emergency Plan has worked in partnership with host nations -- especially in Africa -- to support antiretroviral treatment for approximately 822,000 men, women, and children through bilateral programs in the Focus Countries through September 2006.
Of those 822,000 individuals, 61 percent are women, and nine percent are children age 14 or younger. Any extra time we can give back to a mother through anti-retroviral drugs has an exponentially positive effect on her children, who will have the care and guidance of a loving parent during those critical years of development.
It is fitting that Georgetown University selected the Organization of African First Ladies Against HIV/AIDS for their annual Legacy of a Dream Award. Your work honors and carries on the best of what Martin Luther King represented.
Dr. King famously remarked that, "Life's most persistent and urgent question is, 'What are you doing for others?'"The three First Ladies we honor today have a noble answer.
By your example, you help to bring courage and dignity to many families, who are coping with difficult matters. You lead the charge, on behalf of all African mothers, against this deadly illness that takes parents too early from their children, and young people from their families, before they reach their prime.
Through your work with your "Treat Every child as Your Own," campaign, you are helping to change this.
Every life is important. Every life has value. And through your work, you help us to honor those ideals. We congratulate you on your award and commend you on your accomplishments, and when we are next asked, "What are you doing for others?," may we all have such good deeds to our names.
Thank you and welcome.
