Congressional Delegation Visits South Africa, Examines AIDS Issues
A 14-person congressional delegation on Saturday returned from a one-week trip to South Africa, where they held discussions with U.S. officials in the country, visited HIV/AIDS treatment and orphan programs in Soweto and discussed AIDS in the workplace, AllAfrica.com reports. The delegation, comprised of six Republicans and eight Democrats, was joined by a 21-person delegation from the Washington, D.C.-based Faith and Politics Institute, a group committed to "provid[ing] space for moral reflection for politicians," according to AllAfrica.com. The group visited Gugulethu Township and spoke to HIV-positive people at the J.L. Zwane Center. In addition, the delegates discussed the management of company-sponsored AIDS prevention and treatment programs with DaimlerChrysler's South African subsidiary (Cobb, AllAfrica.com, 6/2). DaimlerChrysler in 2001 established a health plan to provide free antiretroviral drugs to its employees and their families (Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, 6/19/2001). Rep. Amo Houghton (R-N.Y.), who led the delegation, said, "We're trying to put into perspective history and the future. ... Every time you come, you pick up something" (AllAfrica.com, 6/2).
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