Former UN ambassador speaks on AIDS, rape crises in Africa

By Cindy Dinh     10/9/08 7:00pm

The world's problems never sit on the back-burner for too long before they hit home. Stephen Lewis, former Canadian ambassador to the United Nations and current UN secretary-general's envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa, spoke to a packed audience at the James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy Thursday, Sept. 25, about the world's struggle to achieve the UN Millennium Development Goals. As part of the 2008 Global Health Technology Speaker Series, Lewis' speech entitled Race Against Time incorporated personal anecdotes, current statistics and raw emotion to capture the current situation in Africa."As long as Mr. Lewis continues his work, the world will know what AIDS will look like," Rebecca Richards-Kortum, director of Rice 360? and founder of Beyond Traditional Borders said in her introductory remarks.

Both of thses campus organizations sponsored the event, along with the School of Humanities, Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Management and the United Nations Association International Choir, which performed before the lecture.

Lewis navigated through the eight Millennium Development Goals and discussed in great detail topics relating to AIDS patients, specifically malnourishment and gender inequality in Africa.

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"We're nearing our halfway mark [for achieving the goals] in 2015, but not a single country in sub-Saharan Africa will achieve any of the Millennium Development Goals," Lewis said.

He referenced how U2 lead singer Bono lamented that in one week alone, the United States invested millions of federal dollars to bail out its financial markets, compared to the world's decades-long struggle to finance enough money for developing nations. Financial disparity and government priorities are key concerns for Lewis. He said the U.S. allocates $3 billion for the war in Iraq each month, despite the fact that the world has yet to gather $10 billion to address HIV/AIDS problems that affect 33 million people.

Spouting facts and figures to support his claim, Lewis said poverty is profoundly entrenched within countries. According to the World Bank, 913 million people are living under $1 a day, and about 1.4 billion people in the world are living on less than $1.25 per day. This represents one quarter of the world's population, he said.

"That is such a ridiculous statistic!" Baker College sophomore Diana Cahill said in response to Lewis' speech.

She and other students were not aware of the magnitude of people living in poverty.

"Everyone's desensitized to hearing how we are so fortunate," Baker College sophomore Beth England said. "When you actually hear the numbers and think about it, you don't realize how profound the differences in numbers are."

Lewis is co-director of AIDS-Free World, an international advocacy organization that promotes global responses to HIV/AIDS issues. His work also includes advocating an end to hunger and malnourishment.

"I was in a room with AIDS patients and asked them 'What do you need? What can I help you with?'" Lewis said. "They never say they need drugs. They say, 'We need food.'"

Since the cost of food has risen over the years, there is tremendous incidence of starvation and malnutrition, Lewis said. Malnourishment is the cause of death for 9 out of 10 children who die from preventable diseases every year, especially from symptoms such as dehydration and diarrhea. The major Western powers are not providing sufficient resources to the World Food Program, he said.

However, the Millennium Development Goal he feels most strongly about is the third one, promoting gender equality and empowering women.

"I believe more and more now that the situation of gender inequality around the world is heartbreaking," Lewis said. "Whether it is human trafficking, female genital mutilation, child brides, honor killings, the toll it takes on women is unnerving."

Females are often the subject of assault and violence that make them more vulnerable to contracting HIV/AIDS, Lewis said. Rape is a strategy of war, where entire communities will submit their women to aggressors who want to extract the communities' resources, he said.

"In areas of conflict, the rape and sexual violence is completely out of control," Lewis said. "When the wars are over, the raping continues."

Cahill said his candidness and vivid examples of sexual abuse were memorable.

"He didn't have any fear of being politically incorrect," Cahill said. "He talked about rapes and violence like how a woman was tied to a bed and used as a raping machine."

Martel College sophomore Andrew Fischer agreed that the details and numerical statistics heightened his awareness of situations around the world.

"What I was surprised [with] was the sheer maliciousness of the rapes he described," Fischer said. "I had no idea about the number of people who were affected."

Lewis decried the lack of global response to address these issues.

"Every member of the UN Secretary Council knows what's happening," Lewis said. "Everyone knows, everyone understands, and it continues on today. When the genocides in Rwanda came, we said, 'Never again!' Along came Darfur, and we said, 'Never again!' Then along came the Congo and now HIV. It's the end of the 20th century; how do we let these things happen?"

He said the world faces a conundrum when G8 countries make commitments to African nations and do not deliver on their promises.

"I can't get over why the promises to Africa are easily discarded," Lewis said. "We need to respond with a sense of urgency and emergency. Passivity is absolutely unforgivable."

Lewis also commented on the role of pop culture in addressing global hunger, disease and abuse. Hollywood celebrities such as Oprah Winfrey, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have campaigned to raise more awareness of issues in Africa, he said. However, Lewis argued, the ultimate response to instigate sustainable change has to come directly from governments.

"We have celebrity leadership in the absence of political leadership," Lewis said.

In a question-and-answer session, Lewis said democracy is a solution to corruption and dictatorships that perpetuate the deplorable situations in Africa.

"It took Britain 1832 years to have a democratic election," Lewis said. "Give Africa a little more time."

Several students and administrators considered Lewis' speech to be an eye-opener.

"It was one of the more extraordinary speeches I've listened to," President David Leebron said. "What he presented here is a real indictment of priorities."

Though there were several take-home messages from the lecture, Leebron said there were two that aptly summed it up.

"One, what we as individuals can contribute, and how we need to hold our government accountable for what they achieve, not only in our nation, but in regard to people in other nations who are less fortunate," Leebron said.

After hearing the stories of victims of violence, starvation and disease, some students see a deeper contrast between impoverished countries and their own affluent communities.

"I find it really frightening and challenging to the way we live our lives here," Will Rice College freshman Evi Van Hallie said. "Why do we complain about exams and wake up in the morning thinking, 'Woe is me?'"

The speech prompted England to reflect on Houston's temporary loss of water supply during Hurricane Ike.

"We lost water for about a weekend, but there are people who don't have safe and clean water - ever," England said.

Poster presentations from students in Bioengineering 362: Bioengineering for Global Health Environments immediately followed the lecture. Lewis mentioned Rice 360? and Beyond Traditional Borders as an opportunities for students to take action at the grassroots level.

"The life-and-death struggle is at the community level," Lewis said. "Plunge into that."

Several Rice classes, clubs and programs are concerned with critical global issues. Bioengineering capstone projects, Beyond Traditional Borders, Engineers Without Borders and other organizations directly engage students to identify a need in the world, design a solution and later implement it in developing nations, England said.

England said her roommate brought recycled cell phones to Africa this summer to teach health community workers how to text patient information to doctors in other villages.

"This saved them time from having to walk back and forth just to relay the information," England said.

Though world problems are often too complex for an individual person or organization to solve, Lewis said change at the community level will generate the greatest impact.

"There's only so much an individual can do, but that's not to say a concerted effort is not appreciated," Fischer said.

Lewis also touted the benefits of education. He said students can take a greater grasp on these issues by preparing themselves with the skills and knowledge.

"The only thing students can do now is take classes about it," England, who is taking BIOE 362, said. "Learn whatever you can so one day you can design new solutions."

"As my career at Rice progresses, I realize more and more the responsibility we have to the disadvantaged people the world over," Cahill said. "And more and more I realize the duty we have - that I have - to make the world a better place.

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