       AIDS         CZAR, IN AFRICA, APPLAUDS GORE         ANNOUNCEMENT ON         GLOBAL AIDS INITIATIVE      ................................................................                                                    FOR IMMEDIATE         RELEASE         February 19, 1999         Contact: (202) 456-2437        Get an exact         copy (requires a free viewer)                      KAMPALA, UGANDA - Sandra L. Thurman, Director of the White         House Office of National AIDS Policy, released the following statement         from Kampala, Uganda, where she is on a four country tour to implement         the LIFE Initiative, the new U.S. response to the global AIDS pandemic:       "Since the beginning of this relentless pandemic, it has been determined         leadership that has made the most profound difference. Today, I am extremely         pleased that Vice President Gore and U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations,         Richard Holbrooke, have seized this historic moment to lead the Security         Council to its first consideration of a health issue. Today, the U.N.         stated in no uncertain terms that our shared battle against AIDS is much         more than a humanitarian crisis, it is an economic and a security crisis         as well. If we are to win this war, it will take aggressive and concrete         action from all sectors of all nations. Today's action moves us decisively         in that direction."       For more information, please contact the Office of the Vice President         at (202) 456-7035. For Sandra Thurman, on location in Uganda, please call         (256) 77-221-293 or her office in Washington, D.C. at (202) 456-2959.       ##30#                     |