>APIC: Note to Readers
>Date distributed (ymd): 000614
>APIC Document
>
>Introductory note:
>
>The letter below, from new APIC director Salih Booker, has just
>been mailed out to APIC members. Many of you who receive these
>postings have already sent in membership contributions this year.
>We appreciate your support.
>
>The postings in our electronic distribution list are free to APIC
>members and non-members alike, as are the additional resources on
>our web site (http://www.africapolicy.org). Those of you who chose
>to contribute make it possible for us to continue and expand the
>impact of our work, to make information serve the cause of justice
>for Africa.
>
>Thank you very much for your attention.
>
>*********************************************************
>
>June 13, 2000
>
>Dear Friend,
>
>Africa is facing a deadly plague while the prosperous western
>countries spend huge amounts of money on finding cures for
>baldness and obesity. Africans have been far more affected by
>the AIDS pandemic than people in any other part of the world.
>
>This crisis is a stark reminder of the double standard which has
>marginalized African lives for the past five hundred years, and
>which now divides the world between rich and poor. Unless rich
>countries take their responsibility to fight AIDS and poverty in
>Africa, this new century will witness only a deepening of the
>divide between the global haves and have-nots, with devastating
>results for humankind.
>
>The White House has recently declared HIV/AIDS a threat to US
>national security (see the report distributed electronically by
>APIC last month http://www.africapolicy.org/docs00/nie0005.htm).
>Yet the Clinton Administration is requesting only $254 million from
>Congress to combat this devastating disease worldwide! This
>ridiculously puny figure is 1/1000th of the administration's
>request for the Pentagon this year.
>
>Most African countries are deeply in debt to international
>financial institutions and rich creditor nations. The average
>African government spends more money per year to pay its foreign
>debts than on national health care. Early gains in healthcare in
>the sixties have been all but reversed by the rigid free-market
>policies imposed by international creditors in the eighties.
>
>Last week the World Health Organization released a report
>indicating that "healthy life expectancy in some African
>countries is dropping to levels we haven't seen in advanced
>countries since medieval times." I am sure you agree with us
>that the U.S. must pay its fair share of greater international
>efforts to support improved healthcare systems in Africa. But
>until the American public is better informed and more engaged in
>shifting US policy priorities, Africa will remain neglected.
>
>That's where we come in. If you use one of APIC's electronic
>services such as the e-mail distribution list, the web site, or
>are among the members of the Advocacy Network on Africa, for
>which we serve as communications facilitator, you are already
>well aware of our work to increase the visibility of critical
>African issues and to provide information for activism on US
>policies.
>
>These and other APIC efforts help fight the ignorance that still
>prevails among rich-country policymakers and publics. These
>efforts also support coalitions and campaigns working to change
>US and international policies. We need to strengthen our work
>and we need your support to do so now!
>
>We are busy connecting organizations and activists in the US,
>Africa and elsewhere. We provide a strategic information
>exchange, we support the work of key networks on African issues
>and we promote dialogue and debate. Our focused use of
>electronic communications technology helps to multiply the impact
>of the wide range of collective efforts that are essential to
>dent the entrenched indifference to Africa in policy circles.
>
>In recent months (as always!) we have kept our readership
>abreast of key political and economic developments in Africa
>including the passage of the African Trade Bill, the lack of
>progress on canceling Africa's debt, and the half-hearted US
>response to conflicts in Sierra Leone and elsewhere. Our work is
>intended not only to inform and educate, but to provide
>information for action! With your support APIC has made a
>difference in the past several years in many different ways.
>
>* APIC's publications, personal networking and electronic
>communications played a key role in facilitating greater
>participation by African partners in the Campaign to Ban
>Landmines. This in turn helped African governments to play a
>leading role in negotiating a comprehensive treaty free of
>exceptions, and contributed to the unprecedented success this
>movement had in moving an international treaty process to
>conclusion.
>
>* In the campaign to end the illegal exploitation of diamonds and
>other natural resources that prolong the conflict in Angola,
>APIC's early input on research and framing, and its
>dissemination of information on this issue through e-mail, the
>web, and to members of Congress, made a very substantial
>contribution. While the issue is far from resolved, the United
>Nations commission on violations of sanctions and the declaration
>by the De Beers company that it will not purchase diamonds from
>"conflict areas" show that this campaign is having an impact.
>Moreover, it has paved the way for a similar campaign focusing on
>Sierra Leone's diamonds and war.
>
>* APIC's electronic networking services as a facilitator for the
>Advocacy Network on Africa (ADNA) made it possible for this group
>to expand from approximately 100 organizations in 1997 (the vast
>majority in Washington) to more than 200 organizations by April
>2000, almost one third outside of Washington. This would not have
>happened without APIC's contribution. ADNA is now becoming a
>powerful vehicle for organizing efforts to change US and
>international policies toward Africa.
>
>* APIC's recently concluded electronic roundtable in
>partnership with the Economic Commission for Africa showcased
>debates on issues such as debt and development among some of
>Africa's brightest and most creative thinkers and writers as well
>as US Africanists. The roundtable was yet another reflection of
>how we are ensuring that authentic African voices and debates are
>heard in the US and around the world.
>
>* APIC has played a vital role in the international movement to
>cancel poor countries' debts. The vast majority of impoverished
>nations needing debt relief are African. APIC's Africa's Debt
>Background Paper met a real need in the movement for a broad,
>meticulously researched and yet popularly written overview of
>African countries' debt burden, its impact on ordinary Africans'
>lives, and what Africans think about this problem. APIC has
>highlighted the work of its partner, the Africa Fund, in
>mobilizing African American state and local legislators and
>churches to demand the cancellation of these illegitimate debts,
>which hold Africa back and deny her children their rightful
>development and progress!
>
>We have a great deal of work to do and we're developing ways to
>improve our -- and your -- effectiveness. In this spirit, the
>Board of Directors of APIC recently voted to pursue a merger with
>the Africa Fund and the American Committee on Africa (ACOA) based
>in New York City. This will increase our collective capacity to
>make a difference in public discourse on Africa and in US
>policies toward Africa. We hope that we can count on your
>continuing support as we work to bring this decision to fruition.
>You can certainly count on us here at APIC to continue to provide
>you with the information for action that you find useful. During
>this period I will act as interim director for APIC and Africa
>Fund/ACOA and I am extremely excited about the prospects.
>
>In the next several months we are going to increase pressure on
>the US government to develop more progressive policies toward
>Africa by working with grassroots activists and other strategic
>sectors. We aim to help achieve the cancellation of Africa's
>debts, an end to Africa's wars, and the promotion of fair trade
>and sustainable human development in Africa. We seek nothing
>less than an end to the GLOBAL APARTHEID that keeps Africa
>marginalized in the world today
>
>I can't wait to hear from you! Your contribution will serve the
>cause of justice for Africa.
>
>Thank you for your partnership.
>
>Sincerely,
>
>
>Salih Booker
>Director
>
>P.S. We appreciate the support you have provided to APIC in the
>past. Please renew your support now. We must step up our
>efforts to end global apartheid. If you can possibly afford it,
>please make a contribution of $100 or more. You may also
>contribute by credit card through our secure web site
>(http://www.africapolicy.org/join.htm).
>
>For additional information on APIC and APIC programs, please visit
>our web site (http://www.africapolicy.org).
>
>
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> code:em0006
>
>How to Become an APIC Member or Renew Your Membership:
>
>(1) By credit card (Visa or Mastercard)
>
>You may submit your membership on our secure web site (go to
>http://www.africapolicy.org/join.htm). Or you may send in the form
>below by e-mail to [log in to unmask],
>by fax to 1-202-546-1545, or by post to
>APIC, 110 Maryland Ave. NE, Suite 509,
>Washington, DC 20002, USA.
>
>(2) By check or money order (in US$)
>
>Print out the membership form below or from the web
>(http://www.africapolicy.org/join.htm). Fill it in and send it by
>post, along with your check or money order, to APIC, 110
>Maryland Ave. NE, Suite 509, Washington, DC 20002, USA.
>
>Note: To return this form by e-mail, either "reply" with
>message included or "copy and paste" to a new e-mail
>message. Fill in the brackets with X or the appropriate
>information. Then send to [log in to unmask]
>
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>************************************************************
>This material is produced and distributed by the Africa Policy
>Information Center (APIC). APIC provides accessible information and
>analysis in order to promote U.S. and international policies toward
>Africa that advance economic, political and social justice and the
>full spectrum of human rights.
>
>Auto-response addresses for more information (send any e-mail
>message): [log in to unmask] (about the Africa Policy
>Electronic Distribution List); [log in to unmask] (about APIC).
>Documents previously distributed, as well as a wide range of
>additional information, are also available on the Web at:
>http://www.africapolicy.org
>
>To be added to or dropped from the distribution list write to
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>Africa Policy Information Center,
>110 Maryland Ave. NE, #509, Washington, DC 20002.
>Phone: 202-546-7961. Fax: 202-546-1545.
>E-mail: [log in to unmask]
>************************************************************
>
>
>
>
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