Somebody Else's Problem

By Keith Boykin, in politics
Tuesday, July 15 2003, 10:23AM

From Africa to America, world leaders are still pretending that AIDS is somebody else's problem. Last week, George Bush traveled to Africa and saw first hand the devastation the disease has caused that continent. Meanwhile, in north Africa, Libyan president Moammar Gadhafi declared that straight people have nothing to fear from AIDS. Twenty years into the epidemic, can we still be so blind?

Writing in Newsday today, columnist Jimmy Breslin said "George Bush is so shocked by AIDS sufferers in Africa because he never put a foot in Brooklyn."

"The government in Washington says it has real great compassion for people with AIDS and says it is funding places like Brooklyn," Breslin said. "It funds with no funds."

In his State of the Union address, President Bush proposed an ambitious five-year $15 billion plan to help Africa and the Caribbean deal with AIDS. Sounds like a great idea, even though the money is expected to come with right-wing political strings that limit the ability of clinics to provide critical family planning services.

Meanwhile, in the United States, the AIDS epidemic continues unabated in communities that are also struggling with drug use, crime, unemployment, inferior education and lack of health care services.

While many in the white gay community have moved on from the AIDS issue, black and Latino gay and bisexual men, women, children and drug users are still at great risk. AIDS is still the leading cause of death for African American men between the ages of 25 and 44.

It's great the president is willing to spend billions of dollars to help people living with AIDS in Africa, but that also proves that we can find billions of dollars to help people living with AIDS in America. In our country, where 40 million of us do not have health insurance, we still have lots of work to do.

That also means we have to open up the discussion on sexuality. We can't fight AIDS if schools can't promote condom use, if governments can't distribute clean needles to drug users, and if health agencies can't talk frankly about safe sex. The next step in the fight against AIDS is the battle for honesty.

Back in Africa, Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi told African leaders on Saturday that heterosexuals need need worry about HIV/AIDS.

"All you have to do is observe the rules," Gadhafi said. "If you are straight, you have nothing to fear from AIDS."

Tell that to the 29 million sub-Saharan Africans living with HIV. Two thirds of the 42 million people infected with HIV worldwide live in sub-Saharan Africa. There's no evidence that those infections occurred only from homosexual sex. In fact, AIDS has killed more than 17 million in sub-Saharan Africa and is the leading cause of death among South African women.

Few people in our country take Gadhafi seriously anymore, but he's still in power in his country, and his remarks were delivered at the closing ceremony of an eight-day conference of African leaders. Some in the audience reportedly laughed when Gadhafi made his comment about AIDS.

They can laugh all the want, but AIDS is no joking matter. If we really want to stop this disease, world leaders would do well to open their eyes before they open their mouths.

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