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YouthAIDS Honors Landrieu, Lugar and Tutu WASHINGTON, DC, Sept. 14, 2005 — Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu and Senators Richard Lugar and Mary Landrieu were honored at the PSI/YouthAIDS Annual Gala Faces of Africa for their contributions to HIV/AIDS prevention. The gala, held at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, raised over $1.3 million and featured performances by Dave Matthews, Wynonna Judd, Tracy Chapman, Minnie Driver and Kimberley Locke. YouthAIDS Global Ambassador and PSI Board Member Ashley Judd hosted the event and spoke of her recent travels to visit PSI HIV/AIDS and malaria prevention programs in Kenya, Madagascar and South Africa. Rev. Mpho Tutu, the archbishop's daughter who is associate pastor of a church in Alexandria, Virginia, opened the gala with a prayer. Lugar, Landrieu and Tutu were honored for their dedication and consistent effort to bringing and keeping HIV/AIDS relief at the forefront of the international debate. In June 2005, Sen. Lugar invited Ms. Judd to testify before his committee on behalf of PSI, and she spoke of the vulnerability of African girls and women to HIV infection and called for more action to address their needs. As chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Sen. Lugar has made HIV/AIDS a priority and examined the intersection of AIDS and hunger, the AIDS orphan crisis, the impact of the disease on women and girls in the developing world and the implementation of the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief. Sen. Landrieu is one of the nation's most recognized advocates for domestic and international adoption. In May 2004, she visited Uganda, where she met with the Ugandan government to identify ways in which the United States can support Uganda and other African nations in efforts to prevent more children from being orphaned by the HIV/AIDS epidemic. She also visited PSI/Uganda and learned about PSI campaigns combating cross-generational sex and promoting abstinence, delayed sexual debut and fidelity, many of which collaborate with Ugandan faith-based organizations. Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, former archbishop of South Africa, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984. In 1995, then South African President Nelson Mandela appointed him chairman of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, a body created to probe human rights violations that occurred under apartheid. Archbishop Tutu is regarded as one of the world's preeminent moral voices, calling for reconciliation and understanding and speaking out against the injustices on behalf of those who suffer from the effects of HIV/AIDS. Seven U.S. senators attended the gala: In addition to Sens. Lugar and Landrieu, Larry Craig (Idaho), Norm Coleman (Minnesota), Barbara Boxer (California), Christopher Dodd (Connecticut) and Frank Lautenberg (New Jersey) were present as well as numerous Senate staff. Eight members of the House of Representatives came to the event, including Reps. Barbara Lee and Betty McCollum. — Carlie Danielson, PSI/Washington
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