Clinton Makes Strong Appeal For U.S. Funds And Support For Africa

Jet, March 6, 2000

Before one of the largest volunteer crowds ever assembled to help an African cause, President Clinton promised to come to the rescue "of the neglected and long suffering continent."

Speaking to the National Summit on Africa gathered in the Washington Convention Center, the chief executive said that the U.S. should provide more support for disease control, debt relief, and conflict resolution in Africa.

"We must be involved in Africa," Clinton told the audience comprising almost 3,000 guests who traveled to the nation's capital for a five-day conference financed by the Ford Foundation.

Capturing immediate attention, Clinton, the first U.S. President to visit Africa while in office, said that "For too long, the African people have lacked for friends and allies.

"No one in our government is under any illusion. There is still a lot of work to be done," he stressed. "These things cannot be imported and they cannot be imposed from the outside."

Summit sponsors hoped that the Black community could be organized to really become a force in America to add momentum to the drive to meaningfully support Africa.