April 2003

ARTICLE TOOLS

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Bill Frist, the new Senate Majority Leader, strode into Room S. 207 at the Capitol, where he was to meet with roughly 30 Christian and African leaders on February 5. The topic was how to battle HIV/AIDS worldwide, and the Tennessee Republican had come not to fault the efforts of Christians but to praise them.

"In my eight years here, evangelicals have now stepped up to the plate. They represent a great hope, and I think there's a great awakening on this issue," said Frist, according to meeting participants. "The ultimate cure cannot be found without the church."

Frist's comments highlight the dramatic change in evangelical responsiveness to the HIV/AIDS problem overseas. Richard Cizik, vice president of governmental affairs for the National Association of Evangelicals, recalls that ten years ago he was one of two evangelicals to attend a White House conference on HIV/AIDS.

Christians today, in contrast, are lobbying for specific strategies to prevent infection and care for people with HIV/AIDS.

In his January 28 State of the Union address, President Bush proposed that the federal government spend $15 billion over the next five years to fight the disease in Africa and the Caribbean. Of that amount, $10 billion would be new money, a tripling of previous funding.

Twelve of the 14 countries in Bush's plan lie in southern Africa, where tens of millions of families have been hit by the virus. "We're very pleased by what the President has said and is doing on this," said Steve Haas, vice president for church relations with World Vision.

Decimated early on by HIV/AIDS, Uganda is emerging as the Bush administration's model for fighting the virus in southern Africa. First Lady Laura Bush welcomed Peter Mugyenyi, director ...