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HIV-Positive Zambian Shares Importance of AIDS Funding with President Bush
An HIV-positive Zambian woman shared her experience with President Bush April 29 during a private meeting with Secretary of State Colin Powell, Health Secretary Tommy Thompson and others in the fight against the AIDS crisis. President Bush called the meeting to promote his Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, which triples the U.S. government’s spending on global AIDS prevention and treatment to $15 billion over five years. Princess Kasune Zulu, a World Vision AIDS worker, was invited to participate in the meeting. She is in the United States promoting World Vision’s Hope Initiative, aimed at raising $100 million over the next two years specifically for AIDS prevention, care and advocacy efforts.
The House of Representatives passed the initiative May 1 by a vote of 375-41. The bill authorizes $3 billion per year for five years to be set aside for AIDS prevention, care and treatment. An amendment to the bill authorizes at least 10 percent of initiative funds to children who were orphaned or made vulnerable by HIV/AIDS, a position advocated by World Vision and other faith-based groups.
Zulu was 21 when she discovered that she was HIV-positive. In response to the discrimination she met from friends, family – even her church – Zulu began a ministry, which includes a school for children orphaned by AIDS. In addition, she hosts a nationally-syndicated radio show called “Positive Living,” designed to inform and encourage the 1.2 million Zambians living with AIDS.
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