Obama On World Aids Day

Yesterday was world aids day, and I knew nothing about it until one of my readers left an anonymous comment questioning why blogxilla.com had no WAD post. Well I didn’t know. Look I am one person, and like all of us I am not a perfect person, I have things to do and yesterday was a very busy day. No one clicks the donate tab, to tell me what to post on my site, but every once in a while someone will assist me by allowing me to post some of the writing. So if there is something that you want to see on BlogXilla.com feel free to contact me and submit it, if it’s good I’ll post it. Besides I couldn’t address World Aids Day like Obama could anyway.

Hello everyone. Thank you for allowing me to send my greetings and to share a few words with you on this special day. It’s my privilege to thank Pastor Rick, Kay and all of you for your leadership in the struggle against HIV/AIDS, and your steadfast commitment to eradicating this disease.

 

On this twentieth anniversary of World AIDS Day, I think it’s appropriate to look back for a moment to when this day was first observed. In 1988, when ministers of health from around the world first had the notion to set aside a day to highlight the threat of HIV/AIDS, they faced widespread ignorance and fear. Back then, many refused to even acknowledge the existence of this disease, let alone the devastating impact it was having on families and communities around the world.

Today, because of the work of people like you, women in Kenya who were widowed by the disease, and once shunned by society, have banded together to support and empower each other. Scientists around the world are discovering and engineering new medicines to give people with HIV/AIDS another chance at life. NGOs and faith-based institutions are marshaling the best of the human spirit to help those affected. And world governments are coming together to address the humanitarian crisis the pandemic has left in its wake. I salute President Bush for his leadership in crafting a plan for AIDS relief in Africa and backing it up with funding dedicated to saving lives and preventing the spread of the disease. And my administration will continue this critical work to address the crisis around the world.

But we must also recommit ourselves to addressing the AIDS crisis here in the United States with a strong national strategy of education, prevention and treatment, focusing on those communities at greatest risk. This strategy must be based on the best available science and built on the foundation of a strong health care system.

 

Click here to read the rest of Obama’s address to the nation.