IV

103D CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. CON. RES. 288

Expressing the sense of the Congress with respect to children infected with

AIDS in Romania.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

AUGUST 19, 1994

Mr. GILMAN (for himself, Mr. GEJDENSON, Mr. GOODLING, Mr. LANTOS, Mr.

LEACH, Mr. ACKERMAN, Mr. HYDE, Mr. ENGEL, Mr. SMITH of New Jersey, Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA, Mrs. MEYERS of Kansas, Mr. BORSKI, Mr.

GALLEGLY, Mr. ANDREWS of New Jersey, Mr. BALLENGER, Mr. BROWN

of Ohio, Mr. ROHRABACHER, Ms. MCKINNEY, Mr. LEVY, Mr. HASTINGS,

Mr. DIAZ-BALART, Mr. FINGERHUT, Mr. ROYCE, Mr. DEUTSCH, Mr.

WOLF, Mr. WYNN, and Mr. GUTIERREZ) submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

Expressing the sense of the Congress with respect to children

infected with AIDS in Romania.

Whereas prior to 1989, the former communist government of

Romania denied the widespread existence of the human

immunodeficiency virus (HIV) that causes acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS);

Whereas prior to 1989, the communist government of Romania promoted medical practices that led unwittingly to

the injection of HIV-infected blood into otherwise healthy

children;
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•HCON 288 IH

Whereas after Romania began to address the reality of the

problem of AIDS, it was found that by 1993, 89 percent

of all cases of HIV infection in Romania involved children, which is the highest such rate in Europe, with most

such cases being in the port city of Constanta;

Whereas with the assistance of the United States Agency for

International Development and under the coordination of

the United Nations Children’s Fund, American private

voluntary organizations have joined private voluntary organizations of other nations in working to alleviate the

suffering of Romanian children infected with the AIDS

virus, primarily in the Constanta region, by providing for

these children a ‘‘homelike’’ atmosphere, proper nutrition, proper hygiene, foster parenting, and parent counseling; and

Whereas reliable statistics with respect to the AIDS situation

in Romania are no longer available because the Romanian Ministry of Health has disbanded its HIV/AIDS

unit: Now, therefore, be it

1 Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate

2 concurring), That the Congress—

3 (1) commends the work of those private vol4 untary organizations from the United States and

5 other countries who, with the help of the United

6 States Agency for International Development and

7 other assistance organizations, have made life more

8 bearable for Romanian children infected with the

9 AIDS virus;
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•HCON 288 IH

1 (2) calls for the continuation of current meas2 ures to assist children infected with the AIDS virus

3 in the Constanta region of Romania and elsewhere,

4 and for the implementation by the Government of

5 Romania or its designee of a nationwide AIDS6 awareness campaign to lessen the possibility of the

7 spread of infection to additional children and other

8 members of the population in Romania;

9 (3) urges the United States Agency for Inter10 national Development to use its authority under the

11 Support for East European Democracy (SEED) Act

12 of 1989 to provide assistance for the extension of

13 AIDS treatment programs to other areas of Roma14 nia where children infected with the AIDS virus

15 have similar needs;

16 (4) calls on the United States Agency for Inter17 national Development to report to the Committee on

18 Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives and

19 the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate

20 on—

21 (A) the extent of HIV infection among

22 children in Romania, and

23 (B) efforts to provide assistance to address

24 this problem and to prevent further infection

25 among both children and adults;
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•HCON 288 IH

1 (5) calls on the Government of Romania to pro2 vide all appropriate assistance to address the AIDS

3 problem, in particular statistical and other analyses

4 on the spread of infection by the AIDS virus; and

5 (6) calls on the United States Agency for Inter6 national Development to offer assistance to the Ro7 manian Ministry of Health in the collection and

8 analysis of relevant statistics with respect to AIDS.

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