U.S. needs to make fighting poverty, HIV epidemic a top priority
According to former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, three principles are essential to maintaining a successful democracy and fighting global ills.
The first is to take action instead of just talking about what needs to be done. Second, everyone must feel solidarity with others worldwide. Third, each and every individual counts. Albright said Chicago House—a social service agency that has provided those affected by HIV or AIDS with housing and support programs since 1985—is the champion of those key principles.
Albright made that declaration as the keynote speaker at the second Annual Chicago House Speaker Series Luncheon Dec. 9. In front of an audience of more than 1,200 people at the Palmer House Hilton, Albright spoke about fighting poverty and HIV on a global scale as well as her experience as the first female secretary of state.
Albright described how she witnessed the impact of the AIDS epidemic through her international affairs work. She said she spoke to women with HIV and AIDS in Africa whose families shunned them. She also encountered women who were afraid to get tested because they didn't want to be ostracized, and she held children who were born with HIV and already dying.
"Here I was, America's secretary of state, and I felt completely without power," Albright said.
However, Albright pointed out that world leaders do have the capability to fight the spread of HIV and AIDS. She mentioned the Ugandan government's public education campaign as an example. The effort—called "the big noise"—reduced HIV infection rates by 50 percent, she said.
"During my years as secretary of state, I saw firsthand the difference between good leadership on this issue and bad," Albright said.
Thanks to activism and good leadership, she acknowledged that those fighting against the epidemic have made considerable progress since she left office. The number of children infected with HIV at birth has dropped 25 percent, she said. Still, Albright warned activists not to get complacent as a result of that accomplishment.
"The struggle against AIDS has not yet been won," Albright said. "We can't relax now."
In order to win the battle against the spread of disease, the United States and other nations need to make helping the poor a priority, Albright said. She added that there is a direct connection between poverty, health issues denial of basic human rights and other significant problems. Educating people and teaching them 21st-century skills will help lessen the number of people living in poverty, she said. With the utilization of those strategies, Albright said the number of people without access to clean water in South Asia has been cut in half in the past two decades. She also said the United States needs to devote more of its resources to helping those in the developing world.
"We have to look at this more carefully," Albright said. "We cannot have peace of mind if our neighbors lack even a piece of bread."
Albright also discussed what it was like being the first female secretary of state. When she initially took office, she said she noted that her predecessors were all white men who varied from each other only in whether they had a beard, a mustache or were clean-shaven. Now, things have definitely changed. Albright recalled her granddaughter asking what the big deal was about her grandmother's former position, since "all secretaries of state are girls."
"It's beginning to look like we may never have a secretary of state who's a man," Albright said.
Helene Hilborn, who attended the luncheon with her husband, Michael, said seeing Albright was "a fantastic opportunity." The Hilborns said they attended the luncheon to support Chicago House and their son, Jeremy, who works as the social service agency's manager of special events and fundraising. Helene said she and her husband heard former President Bill Clinton speak at the inaugural luncheon last year. She and her husband try to go to as many Chicago House events as they can.
"We support everything they do," Michael Hilborn said.
The event also included a video presentation featuring testimonials from Chicago House clients Cynthia King, a Chicago House Family Support Program Resident, and her son, Tony. The Kings spoke about how Chicago House's services—which include housing, career counseling and college preparatory and vocational programs for kids—turned their lives around, helping Tony successfully complete high school and enroll in college. The Kings were also present at the luncheon.
All proceeds from the event (ticket prices ranged from $150 to $750) will go to the formerly homeless and those affected by HIV or AIDS in Chicago House's programs. At the beginning of the luncheon, Chicago House CEO the Rev. Stan Sloan announced that the event had raised about $250,000 so far.
For more information about Chicago House, visit www.chicagohouse.org .
