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Why Should I Care About Africa?
The grim stories tell of sickness and death throughout Africa on an unprecedented scale. The facts simply boggle the mind. AIDS is the leading cause of death in sub-Saharan Africa. In some countries, more than 25% of the population is infected, making Africa home to more than 70% of the world’s HIV/AIDS-infected adults. 93% of all children with HIV/AIDS live in sub-Saharan Africa. There are more than 25.3 million people living with HIV throughout sub-Saharan Africa. By the year 2005, life expectancy will have fallen by at least 17 years in eight African countries due to AIDS. Everyday, 6,700 families in Africa bury loved ones who have succumbed to the disease.
The most helpless victims of the AIDS crisis are the children.
Some 10 million children have been orphaned by AIDS. Orphanages are overflowing -- and these are the fortunate ones! Other orphaned children live a terrifying existence on the streets. Children who have lost their mother or both parents to AIDS are society's most vulnerable members. Socially isolated because of the stigma of AIDS, they are less likely to be immunized, more likely to be malnourished and illiterate and more vulnerable to abuse and exploitation. They lack legal protection, health services, nutrition, and a safe place to live.
Please make a financial donation to help AAPCI/AFRICA provide assistance to vulnerable children orphaned by AIDS and other AIDS victims.
Poverty and despair in Africa are not just Africa's problem. They are the world's problem. As human beings, we cannot, and should not standby while an entire continent and its people are stalked by death and misery. We cannot and should not standby in the face of abject hunger, disease, hopelessness, and poverty when we, as human beings, have the resources to help. We know in our hearts and in our minds - that reaching out and helping Africa is the right thing to do.
From an economic standpoint, reaching out to help Africa is a very smart thing to do. Helping Africans get back on their feet and helping Africans rebuild their futures is much cheaper in the long run than stepping in every now and then when things have reached catastrophic proportions. Helping Africans fight AIDS and other life threatening diseases is much cheaper than letting those diseases run rampant, mutate into new forms, and spread far beyond the borders of the African continent.
Many African countries are fighting vigorously to stop the onslaught of AIDS and the spread of the HIV virus. But more needs to be done. Without adequate resources, overpriced AIDS drugs often out of the reach of the working-poor, lack of access to healthcare services, ineffective outreach initiatives, Africa may not win the war. This does not have to be the case. We can all do something.
In light of the AIDS crisis, AAPCI/AFRICA's immediate strategy to develop a community healthcare center and provide healthcare services to the most marginalized, vulnerable and underserved; requires immediate implementation. There is a new urgency to both control the spread of HIV/AIDS and help the people of Africa move forward with their lives.
AAPCI/AFRICA needs your immediate assistance. In addition to medical services, the healthcare center will serve as a means by which AAPCI/AFRICA can disseminate information to local communities through Outreach efforts and public information campaigns. Please don't wait! AAPCI/AFRICA needs YOUR support to help accomplish our mission; strengthen and sustain our efforts well into the future.
AAPCI/AFRICA needs your help to develop a community healthcare facility in sub-Saharan Africa. Click here to make a secure, tax-deductible Credit Card donation. It's fast, it's easy, and it's safe.
If you are not comfortable sending your credit card information online but would like to make a tax-deductible financial donation which will help build a new health care facility for people living with HIV/AIDS, please click here to print and complete our Donation By Mail Form. You will need the free Acrobat Reader to view this document, if you do not already have it.
Be sure to enclose your check or your credit card information and please; never, send cash or currency through the mail.
Contributions to the African American Planning Commission, a tax-exempt organization under Section 501 (c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, are deductible for computing income and estate taxes. You will receive a receipt for your contribution in the mail.
On behalf of those who rely upon our services, we thank you for your generosity.
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