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PHOTOCOPY
PRESERVATION
�World AIDS Day Sym~osium: "The Children Left Behind"
A United Nations Sym~osi~m on Chlldren Orphaned by Aids
Keynote Address by 'First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton
:New York, NY
December 1, 1999
,
Thank you very much for inviting me to participate in this important session marking-as
we do every December 1st_a recognition of the importance and the 'cha'nenge to all of us cif
facing the AIDS pandemic around our w6rld. President Gerirog (phonetic), Louis Frechette
(phonetic), Mrs. Preval, Your·Majesty Q~een Noor, Harry Belafonte, Mrs. Kofi Annan, other
distinguished guests, let me begin by thru\king the people for whom this event is most
meaningful and who have added so mucn already. I want to thank Alexandra, Paris, Khomsan
and Andrew for joining us today and of reminding us of the immense potential that they and the
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11 million other children orphaned by AIDS represent for our world and its future. This is a
potential that can be unlocked and nurtur~d or wasted and ignored, depending upon what we in
this room and others in positions of decision-making around the world choose.to do. We are
here because we do face choices. Every one of us has a chance to choose whether we ignore and
leave behind the children orphaned by AIDS, or whether we put their lives, their hopes and
dreams at the forefront of our hearts and ~fforts. And so on this World AIDS Day, we call upon
all countries, all leaders, all businesses, aU families, all citizens to take responsibility for these
children and to ensure that the disease that robbed them of their mothers and fathers does not
continue to lay waste to theirfutures.
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Make no mistake, this is a tremen~ous challenge. We are facing a plague of biblical
proportions. In less than two decades, AlpS has claimed 16 million lives around the world.
Today, 33 million people are living with f:IIV or AIDS. Every five seconds, another man;
woman or child will become HIV positIve. In just five years, 100 million people will have been
infected by the HIV virus. And we know ,
that the shadow 'of AIDS will continue to darken;
,
throughout the developing world-home to 95 percent of all people living with the vitus. Over
the next decade, AIDS will kill more people in Sub-Saharan Africa than the total number killed
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in all the deadly wars of the 20 century. '
,
N ow for many of us in this room, these statistics have become aU too familiar. I hope
and pray we never become numb to them, :01' to the people whom they represent. Like many of
you, I have visited many countries and mapy places, including places in my own country, that
are struggling against the AIDS pandemic: I am haunted by the face of a 12-year-old girl I met
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III Northern Thailand three years ago at a shelter for former prostitutes dying of AIDS. At the
age of 10, she had been sold into prostituti'on, and just a few years later she had returned home to
die. She was in a wheelchair, so weak shd could barely speak. As I knelt down beside her, I
could see the skin stretched tightly across her cheekbones. I thought of all the young girls that I
, had met and watched with great excitemeri,t and admiration as they told me about their plans f6r
, the future they envisioned for themselves. ,That young girl died shortiy after my Visit. And to
this day I think of that gentle face and thos'e warm eyes, and what might have been if she had,
been spared her fate.
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�A UNAIDSIUNICEF report relef),sedjust this morning called AIDS, "the world's most
deadly undeclared war." And increasingly, children are caught in the crossfire. By the year
2010,40 million children will be orph;m~d by AIDS. In Sub-Saharan Africa, this means that at.
least one in five children will be orphan~d by AIDS. A generation the size of the entire .
population of South Africa is in jeopardY,. All around the world, children are watching their
mothers and fathers die of AIDS, and enduring the loneliness and the isolation, and often the
shunning that comes from their communities. They are often sent to the homes of ~verburdened
relatives, and they are often then fed last or clothed last or held back from school. Too often
they are growing up on the streets, living: from meal to meal, with no opportunities for work,
much less schooling. For these children, ithe journey from childhood to adulthood, which has
already been painful enough with the los~ of a parent, has become a harrowing jomney, from
mere poverty to complete destitution, froin limited prospects to none at all. They are the children
of a lost generation, and it is up to us to ensure that we do not also lose them as well.
.
.
We are not powerless to respond ~o the messages that we heard from Andrew and Paris
and Khomsan. But none of us can respond to what they have challenged us to do alone. '
Restoring hope, taking responsibility for these children, and fighting AIDS will require the
leadership and concerted efforts of all ofus working together--ce11ainly the United Nations,
other multi-lateral institutions, govemme~ts, communities of faith, businesses, NGOs and ptivate
citizens.
Last September at the White Hous,e, I brought together leaders of many international
organizations so that together w~ could find ways to improve and better coordinate our efforts to
combat AIDS around the world. It was for me an enlightening and heartening discussion. And
as a result of that meeting, last week our Office of National AIDS Policy and UNAIDS were able
to convene a meeting of donor nations an4 discuss ways to expand our commitments to fig'hting
AIDS.
In the coming months, we will see~ to enlist even more sectors of society for this eff0l1.
We will be inviting business leaders and r~ligious leaders to come to the White House to share
their experiences in the fight against AID~, and to encourage them by working together to do
even more.
The private sector must also do its part. And I'm looking to the business community to
come forward with suggestions and offers :of ways to help those who are struggling the hardest
against the greatest odds throughout the dC1veloping world. The business sector needs the
encouragement, the support, and the prodding of all of us to see what it can do in this fight.
More than ever, our children in the,fight against AIDS deserve the leadership and
attention of those serving at the highest levels of government. This is not just the concern of
health ministers. This must be the concern' of finance ministers, labor ministers, prime ministers
and presidents. (Applause.) AIDS is taking a toll on all sectors of society. It is setting back life
expectancies in Africa to what they were in the 1950s; doubling infant mortality; tripling child
mortality. Factory owners and employers are having trouble finding healthy workers in many
areas. The GNP for those countries worst hit by the epidemic are falling. And all entire
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�,generation is growing up without parentS. Very simply, AIDS is no~ only a health emergency, it
is an internatiomil crisis. And we n~ed ¢ore political leaders to break the conspiracy of silence
about AIDS. (Applause.)
,
I know that this is a difficult issu~ for rnanyin positions of power and influence to speak
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about. It is ~ overwhelming problem. ~t is a problem that poses direct threats to our sense of
morality and humanity. But it is nota prpblem that will go away by being denied or ignored.
Leaders must use the bully pulpit and government action not only to treat the disease, butto
change attitudes. We need political leaders to help 'erase the stigma that keeps too many people
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with AIDS from seeking treatment. And1we must fight the ignorance that fosters the spread of
this :disease. (Applause.)
)'m very pleased that we have hei;e on the panel these two young meil--one from Uganda
and one from Thailand. Because I have ~een firsthand what happens when a government 90es
take responsibility and launches, a commi1tted effort against AlpS. During two visits that I ~ave
had to Kampala, I have seen dozens of billboards emblazoned with AIDS prevention messages.
I visited an AIDS information center that':has helped hundreds of thousands learn more about the
virus and has given hope to those living 'Yith AIDS, and as Andrew so eloquently told us, has
continued to help those who have been Oliphaned by AIDS. Youth outreach workers in Uganda
put together skits and composed songs w,th lyrics such as,·"AIDS cannot win," to teach y~ung
people about the disease and how to prevent it. It is.a truly impressive effort, and it is paying off.
AIDS infection rates ·have been cut in half in Uganda. I urge other countries, not only in Aflica
but throughout Asia and Latin America, to look to Uganda as an example of what can be done by ,
concerted government action.(Applause.~
I also commend the government of Thailand for taking strong action against f'rostitution
and to do what it can to spread the word about the way AIDS is spread, and to make it possible
for more parents who have often been enticed into selling their daughters into prostitution to
.
,
understand clearly what the cost is.
I am very pleased also that the United States Congress recently approved $128 million in
debt relief to developing countries around'the world. (Applause.) I know that the President has
said on several occasions that this money ~i11 be money very well spent if it can be used on
behalf of the health and social needs of th~ people in the countries whose debts are being
forgiven. I challenge the leaders of these countries to seize this 0ppOltunity to bolster their
effOlts against AIDS and to support the orphaned children left behind.
We know that children thrive most: in the embrace ofloving families, which is why I was
so pleased to hear what Paris told us abou~ his family and the.way he, feels so totally a part now
.. ,of a new family. That's why governments; NGOs, churc;hes, other religious organizations-all
of us-must target our efforts to help the poorest families care for those children orphaned by
AIDS. For a fraction of the cost of one bed in an orphanage, we could help many more children
stay with their families. We could provide: subsidies for school fees to ensure that orphans,
especially girls, do not lose their opportunity to attend school. We could mobilize communities
to provide immunizations and food assistance, counseling and other services that the children
need. And we could expand micro-finance programs targeted at families that were cating for
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�children orphaned by AIDS in order to b'oost their family incomes. I want you to know that the
United States is committed to being a pa~ner in all of these efforts. And I am proud that the
Congress just passed the President's initiative to add $100 million tpis'year to our global fight
against AIDS. This will enable us to do~ble our financial efforts'in Africa. The LIFE.Initiative
will help countries protect children orph<;med by AIDS, care for people living with AIDS, fund
strategies to prevent further HIV infecti~ri, and support clinics, organizations and outreach
programs.
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This can not and will not be a one-time commitment. The United States efforts must be
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sustained and strengthened to meet the iriunense challenges posed by this pandemic. An~ I want .
you to know that the President and I will !continue to fight for the funds from the Congress in the' .
remaining time that the President has so that the United States will do its part in the struggle
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agamst AIDS. (Applause.)
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,
In the spring, the President will b<:: sending our director of National AIDS Policy, Sandy
Thurman, on a fact-finding mission t6 In¥a. When Sandy returned from Africa, it helped us
mobilize support in the Congress and thn;mghout the public. And we look for the same effects
upon her return when she reports to the President about what she has seen in Asia so that we can
together take steps now to help the peopl<;: of Asia avoid the devastation that has occurred in
Africa. (Applause.)
.
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All nations must work together in la comprehensive campaign to eradicate AIDS, aild I
congratulate those nations that are cooperating on behalf of the effort to find a vaccine. Together
we have to recognize that we are indeed ~ global village, and that the battle against AIDS in
America, in Africa, in Asia-around the world-is a shared responsibly.
Much has been written and said about what we need to do to tum the tide. But it is long
past time to move from talk to action. Together we can move from denial to recognition, from
fixing blame to taking responsibility, from despair to hope. We can, in Khomsan's words, "fight
on together" to ensure that no child is left !behind.
I
I think of the tireless and strong-willed grandmothers in Port-au-Prince and Soweto, who
refused to give up on any grandchild orph~ed by AIDS. I remember the energetic voices and
songs of the dedicated young workers I m~t in Kampala. I wonder at the resilience of these three
children sitting with me today, and the millions of children like them in Rio and Bangkok or
right here in New York City, who despite unimaginable loss and pain, continue to find ways to
learn and believe in the future. And I lOOK to all ofus gathered in this room, on the eve of this
new century and millennium, to speak outland fight for our children, and to give them.the .
support and the hope that they need. We have to have the confidence that we can build ~ w'orld
worthy of all of our children. And as we rVafk this day of recognition and remembrance about
AIDS, there is no more urgent task before ~s.
Thank you all very much. (Applau'se.)
4
�
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Lissa Muscatine - Press Office
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<p>Lissa Muscatine first served in the Clinton Administration as a speechwriter. Within the First Lady’s Office, she served as Communications Director to the First Lady.</p>
<p>Lissa Muscatine’s records consist of materials from First Lady Hillary Clinton’s Press Office, highlighting topics such as health care, women’s rights, the Millennium Council, Hillary Clinton’s 2000 Senate campaign, and deal extensively with press interviews given by the First Lady; her domestic and foreign travel; and speeches and remarks, on a wide variety of topics, given by her before and during her time as First Lady. The records include interview transcripts, press releases, speeches and speech transcripts.</p>
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