PRINTER'S NO. 2573
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. G6L82BIL/20050H0408R2573 - 3 -