Africare Dinner Salutes Dr. Louis Sullivan; Secretary of State Colin Powell Delivers Keynote

Africare
Wednesday, 7 November 2001

WASHINGTON, D.C. (Nov. 7, 2001) ...At the 2001 Africare Bishop John T. Walker Memorial Dinner, held on Tuesday evening, November 6, in Washington, D.C., some 2,000 supporters gathered for a keynote address by Secretary of State Colin L. Powell. "Look at this room — full! full! — at a time when people might have said, 'Let's not go out.' Your presence says solidarity," observed Secretary Powell in his remarks. He went on to warn, with respect to Africa, that "AIDS could kill a continent. It is a catastrophe. It is a disaster. It is a pandemic of the worst kind."

The 2001 Africare Bishop Walker Dinner was dedicated to the victims of HIV/AIDS in Africa and to the hope that this tragic disease can be overcome both Africa-wide and throughout the world. AIDS is now the leading killer in Africa. In some 17 African countries, Africare continues its programs in HIV prevention, counseling and care for those already infected, and assistance to the orphans of AIDS.

The 2001 Dinner also paid tribute to the Honorable Louis W. Sullivan, M.D. — President and Founding Dean of Morehouse School of Medicine, and Secretary of Health and Human Services for four years (1989-1993) under the previous Bush Administration — for outstanding contributions to health care, medical education and workplace diversity in the United States, throughout Africa and worldwide. Dr. Sullivan received Africare's 2001 Bishop Walker Humanitarian Award. Leading the tribute was the Honorable Andrew Young, former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N., former Mayor of Atlanta and now Chairman of GoodWorks International, LLC. Via videotape, former President Bush also provided a tribute to Dr. Sullivan.

"What Africare does, what Bishop Walker did, what my good friend Lou Sullivan did in all those years as a public servant and community leader, and continues to do," stated Powell, "they all see this potential [in Africa]. And they make it real in their daily work and in their daily activities, and that's why you honor Lou Sullivan tonight. To see promise, and to make it a thing of the present.

"Every single day," continued the Secretary, "Africare is helping to put tools into people's hands, bread on their tables and, above all, hope in their hearts." (For the full text of Secretary Powell's speech, visit the State Department Web site -- www.state.gov -- search the site for "Africare" and select the speech from the list of articles that appears.)

Other 2001 Dinner principals were:

Honorary Patron:
U.N. Secretary-General Kofi A. Annan

National Chair:
The Honorable James A. Harmon
Chairman, J.A. Harmon Associates LLC; Former Chairman and President, Export-Import Bank of the United States

General Chairs:
Marion M. Dawson Carr
President, Dearfield Associates
and
Stephen D. Cashin
Managing Director, Modern Africa Fund Managers LLP

Honorary Chair:
Maria Walker

For more information, or to contact Africare, see their website at: www.africare.org