((a)) ** Findings** The Congress finds the following:
((1)) Sustained economic development in sub-Saharan Africa depends in large measure upon successful trade with and foreign assistance to the countries of sub-Saharan Africa.
((2)) The HIV/AIDS crisis has reached epidemic proportions in sub-Saharan Africa, where more than 21,000,000 men, women, and children are infected with HIV.
((3)) Eighty-three percent of the estimated 11,700,000 deaths from HIV/AIDS worldwide have been in sub-Saharan Africa.
((4)) The HIV/AIDS crisis in sub-Saharan Africa is weakening the structure of families and societies.
((5))
((A)) The HIV/AIDS crisis threatens the future of the workforce in sub-Saharan Africa.
((B)) Studies show that HIV/AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa most severely affects individuals between the ages of 15 and 49—the age group that provides the most support for the economies of sub-Saharan African countries.
((6)) Clear evidence demonstrates that HIV/AIDS is destructive to the economies of sub-Saharan African countries.
((7)) Sustained economic development is critical to creating the public and private sector resources in sub-Saharan Africa necessary to fight the HIV/AIDS epidemic.
((b)) ** Sense of the Congress** It is the sense of the Congress that—
((1)) addressing the HIV/AIDS crisis in sub-Saharan Africa should be a central component of United States foreign policy with respect to sub-Saharan Africa;
((2)) significant progress needs to be made in preventing and treating HIV/AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa in order to sustain a mutually beneficial trade relationship between the United States and sub-Saharan African countries; and
((3)) the HIV/AIDS crisis in sub-Saharan Africa is a global threat that merits further attention through greatly expanded public, private, and joint public-private efforts, and through appropriate United States legislation.