(a) Findings

The Congress finds the following:

(1) Sustained economic development in sub-Saharan Africa depends in large measure upon successful trade with and foreign assistance to the countries of sub-Saharan Africa.

(2) The HIV/AIDS crisis has reached epidemic proportions in sub-Saharan Africa, where more than 21,000,000 men, women, and children are infected with HIV.

(3) Eighty-three percent of the estimated 11,700,000 deaths from HIV/AIDS worldwide have been in sub-Saharan Africa.

(4) The HIV/AIDS crisis in sub-Saharan Africa is weakening the structure of families and societies.

(5)(A) The HIV/AIDS crisis threatens the future of the workforce in sub-Saharan Africa.

(B) Studies show that HIV/AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa most severely affects individuals between the ages of 15 and 49—the age group that provides the most support for the economies of sub-Saharan African countries.

(6) Clear evidence demonstrates that HIV/AIDS is destructive to the economies of sub-Saharan African countries.

(7) Sustained economic development is critical to creating the public and private sector resources in sub-Saharan Africa necessary to fight the HIV/AIDS epidemic.

(b) Sense of the Congress

It is the sense of the Congress that—

(1) addressing the HIV/AIDS crisis in sub-Saharan Africa should be a central component of United States foreign policy with respect to sub-Saharan Africa;

(2) significant progress needs to be made in preventing and treating HIV/AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa in order to sustain a mutually beneficial trade relationship between the United States and sub-Saharan African countries; and

(3) the HIV/AIDS crisis in sub-Saharan Africa is a global threat that merits further attention through greatly expanded public, private, and joint public-private efforts, and through appropriate United States legislation.