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                                                      PRINTER'S NO. 2573

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA


HOUSE RESOLUTION

No. 408 Session of 2005


        INTRODUCED BY JOSEPHS, JULY 13, 2005

        REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES,
           JULY 13, 2005

                                  A RESOLUTION

     1  Congratulating the Live 8 organizers and performers and urging
     2     the President and Congress of the United States to ensure
     3     that Africa has the resources it needs to fight AIDS and HIV
     4     infection.

     5     WHEREAS, Live 8 is a series of ten concerts that took place
     6  around the globe on July 2, 2005; and
     7     WHEREAS, The name is a play on G8, the leaders of the world's
     8  top eight industrialized nations, who were scheduled to hold
     9  their annual conference later that same week in Scotland; and
    10     WHEREAS, The stated aim of Live 8 was to draw the G8's
    11  attention to the plight of poor African countries and seek debt
    12  relief, trade benefits and $25 billion in aid for them; and
    13     WHEREAS, The free concerts were held in Philadelphia, London,
    14  Paris, Berlin, Moscow, Rome, Tokyo, Johannesburg and Toronto;
    15  and
    16     WHEREAS, More than one million fans jammed into ten venues
    17  across four continents for the Live 8 extravaganza, and another
    18  two billion television viewers were estimated to have tuned in


     1  worldwide; and
     2     WHEREAS, Africa has been hit harder by HIV infection and AIDS
     3  than any other region of the world; and
     4     WHEREAS, More than 17 million Africans have died from AIDS,
     5  and another 25 million are infected with HIV, approximately 1.9
     6  million of them children; and
     7     WHEREAS, Every day in Africa, AIDS kills 6,300 people, and
     8  8,500 people are infected with HIV; and
     9     WHEREAS, People with AIDS do not suffer alone: the disease
    10  attacks their families and communities as well; and
    11     WHEREAS, AIDS has stripped an entire generation of parents,
    12  farmers, doctors and leaders; and
    13     WHEREAS, Twelve million African children have already lost
    14  one or both parents to AIDS; and
    15     WHEREAS, Africa is spending more than $15 billion per year
    16  repaying debts to the world's richest countries and
    17  international institutions such as the World Bank and
    18  International Monetary Fund; and
    19     WHEREAS, Many countries in Africa are spending more each year
    20  on debt than on health care and education combined; and
    21     WHEREAS, The United States, the world's wealthiest country,
    22  currently gives a small percentage of its wealth, 0.14%, to poor
    23  countries; therefore be it
    24     RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the
    25  Commonwealth of Pennsylvania congratulate the Live 8 organizers
    26  and performers for their hard work, entertainment and message of
    27  "Make Poverty History"; and be it further
    28     RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives urge the
    29  President and Congress of the United States to ensure that
    30  Africa has the resources it needs to fight AIDS and HIV
    20050H0408R2573                  - 2 -     

     1  infection and provide basic health care and education to its
     2  population and urge implementation of a 100% debt cancellation
     3  agreement so that African countries can begin putting their
     4  savings to use; and be it further
     5     RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to
     6  the President and Congress of the United States, to the
     7  presiding officers of each house of Congress and to each member
     8  of Congress from Pennsylvania.















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