As promised, I talked with my Zambian daughter Neli about AIDs in Africa. She had some rather interesting points.
First, she was an intern last year for an orgainzation that worked with Congress on aid to Africa. Technically they were lobbiest. She heard of Bush's speach in Africa on a Friday, and was very excited. She was in the appropriations committee meeting the next Wednesday, taking notes. The funds were cut to less than half ($1.3 billion to be exact) the amount the Africans were though promised without a peep from the White House's representative at the meeting. It is possible that Bush planned it to be a ramp-up, but if so, he should have stated that from the beginning. Second, she knows about Uganda's ABC program and strongly supports it. She says its starting in Zambia. The NGOs in her country strongly support this program. The Catholic Church as well as some evangelical churches oppose it, saying that only AB is acceptable. Given the fact that some women are married to men with AIDs, and the men still demand their congegal rights, its hard to see why C is opposed. It is, though. That's been the main problem with NGOs working with churches, AB by itself doesn't work in many cases. She also told me that Bush's funding is mainly going for AB only programs, very little is going for C. Those churches who preach AB only are highly funded, while C has minimal funding. Her suggestion is 50/50 funding. I can't see why one program that states all three isn't a good idea. Her sources seem pretty good to me. She also is interested in your sources, Gautam. I know that you are more interested in the truth than any particular program, and I know Neli feels the same way. I am honestly curious to see what is going on here. Maybe we can actually push a little towards a better plan. One interesting thing on the way home...we were speculating on who the next superpower might be. She said that the US has done plenty of things wrong, but she shudders to think of the other candidates taking over as the biggest power. Dan M. (with Neli editing) _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
