In remote villages throughout Africa, most people appear far removed from the financial crisis rolling through much of the world. The economy these villagers encounter is unconcerned with complex financial instruments and liquidity on Wall Street.
But millions of these men, women and children will suffer the consequences of this crisis unless the new administration and Congress refuse to let the poorest of the poor suffer due to the mistakes of the richest of the rich.
Many expect an Obama administration to be very friendly toward Africa; it is not every day that the United States gets a president with a Kenyan father and a Swahili name.
But the fact is, Mr. Obama will have a hard act to follow in terms of U.S.-Africa relations, thanks in large part to PEPFAR - the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief. On this World AIDS Day, the last under President Bush, we should acknowledge what PEPFAR has accomplished and recommit our nation to continuing its mission of alleviating the misery caused by this pandemic.
PEPFAR began in 2003 as an ambitious, $15 billion program designated to fight AIDS in Africa, Asia and the Caribbean. The main focus has been on Africa because that is where the problem is the biggest, with 22 million of the 33 million people living with this disease.
PEPFAR's success is indisputable. Before it began, only 50,000 people were being treated for HIV and AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa. Now, thanks to PEPFAR and other programs, 1.68 million are.
The biggest impact comes from PEPFAR's making antiretroviral drugs available to the mainly poor, HIV-positive population of Africa. Before, these drugs were too expensive or just plain unavailable. Now they are commonplace.
In 2007, the number of AIDS-related deaths actually went down. And infection rates in more countries are declining as education and other outreach efforts begin to take hold.
Last year, a broad coalition of health and aid groups working with senators and representatives from both parties hammered out a five-year extension of PEPFAR. The new bill sought to fine tune the original legislation - recognizing, for instance, that malaria and tuberculosis also need to be treated as they interact with AIDS in devastating poor populations.
The PEPFAR renewal sought to strengthen local health infrastructures and went further than the original bill in supporting the many children orphaned or left vulnerable as so many parents and providers continue to succumb.
