Powell, On Another Front; US Not Forgetting Africa's AIDS Crisis

Secretary of State Colin Powell attended the 12th annual Africare dinner last night at the Washington Hilton and delivered a message that the crowd of nearly 2,000 was eager to hear. "Africa matters deeply to America," he said. Powell vowed that America will not let the war on terrorism distract it from battling the AIDS epidemic in Africa. According to Powell, about 6,000 people die every day as a result of AIDS. "AIDS could kill a continent," he said. "It is a catastrophe. It is a disaster. It is a pandemic of the worst kind."

Africare has experienced difficulty raising funds in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks. "Individual donations are down," said Africare President C. Payne Lucas. "It's very difficult to make the case [for Africa] in this environment when people really just want to reach out to help the people who suffered at the Pentagon and New York." Africare funds AIDS clinics, water purification projects and other programs across the continent. Over its 12-year history, Washington-based Africare has spent more than $350 million funding projects in 35 African countries. "Every single day," Powell said, "Africare is helping to put tools in people's hands and hope in their hearts." Powell won a standing ovation from the crowd and praise from Lucas. "This guy Colin Powell cares! He cares!" Lucas said.

The affair, which raised about $1.3 million, was Africare's annual Bishop John T. Walker dinner, named after the first African-American Episcopal bishop to the Washington Diocese, who served as chair of Africare from 1975 until his death in 1989. The group's annual Bishop Walker Award was presented to Louis W. Sullivan, president of Morehouse School of Medicine and secretary of Health and Human Services in the first Bush administration.

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