Bill Clinton from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Sunday, July 16, 2006

The past few days have been very busy, but also very exciting. When I arrived in Malawi, I was greeted by a huge crowd. There were thousands of people waiting and more lined the roads wherever we went. While traveling, I tried to stop the motorcade and talk to as many people as I could. My security staff might have been a little nervous, but the whole point of this trip is to meet people, see what their lives are really like, and hear their concerns. I hadn't expected such an incredible welcome, and I was truly touched by everyone's warmth and hospitality. I was told that no other current or former President has visited Malawi, and I'm honored to have been the first.

On Friday, I met with Malawi's President, Bingu Wa Mutharika, and signed an agreement with the Minister of Foreign Affairs to launch my Foundation's newest program, the Clinton Hunter Development Initiative. (CHDI) CHDI grew out of a commitment to foster development in Africa made by my friend, Sir Tom Hunter, at last year's meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative. The Initiative emphasizes four important areas to spur development and improve the quality of life in rural areas of Rwanda and Malawi: agriculture-focused economic development, health, clean water and sanitation, and education. We decided to focus simultaneously on all four because the causes of poverty can't be isolated. A child who goes to school hungry won't learn much, and a person receiving quality health care still won't be healthy if she's drinking contaminated water. To really make a difference, we have to take on all these problems at once.

Yesterday, in Rwanda, I saw early results from CHDI's work. I had breakfast with President Paul Kagame, and then he accompanied me on a visit to a district hospital in Rwinkwavu. The hospital

Read more about the Africa trip

With a family at an Ethiopian hospital

With Rwandan President Paul Kagame at a hospital in Rwinkwavu

Photo Credit: Ralph Alswang, Clinton Foundation

All around the hospital, before-and-after pictures chronicled the transformation. They also hung before-and-after photos of people receiving AIDS treatments. Many of them looked gravely ill in the first pictures, but completely healthy in the second ones. I got to talk to some of the people I saw in these photos, and I was thrilled to see how fit and energetic they were. It's so gratifying to make such a substantial difference, and I can't wait to see how else CHDI will help people in Malawi and Rwanda.

From the hospital, we drove down a bumpy dirt road until we reached a farm in the area where CHDI will be working. I met with five farmers, and we talked about problems they face, and what can be done to help their land become more productive. Agriculture is an important component of the Clinton Hunter Development Initiative, and, as CHDI gets underway, we must be guided by the community's concerns. I learned a lot from these Rwandan farmers, and we'll work closely with them and others in the future. I'm confident that my Foundation will make a huge difference, but it's importanta to listen to what locals have to say. They need to be the leaders in this endeavor, because they know more than anyone about the challenges facing them.

After a meeting today with Prime Minister Meles Zenawi of Ethiopia, I toured a pediatric ward at ALERT Hospital in Addis Ababa. Before we got involved, ALERT Hospital was already one of Ethiopia's premier providers of HIV/AIDS treament and care to adults, but they were able to treat only a handful of children. To help get AIDS medicines to young people who need them, we're working to establish Pediatric Model Centers that will increase the HIV/AIDS knowledge of health care workers in Africa and give them the skills to care for pediatric patients. ALERT Hospital was the first site chosen by the Ethiopian Ministry of Health for one of these model pediatric care and training centers. Since March, we've enrolled 130 children living with HIV/AIDS at the clinic, and 40 are already on treatment. Once the clinic is built, they should be able to help many more. The hospital in Rwanda was remarkable, and I'm optimistic that this clinic will be just as successful.

Seeing the remarkable things we've accomplished— the facilities we've built and people whose health we've helped restore— is the most rewarding part of the work we do, but I'm reminded that there are still so many more kids who would benefit from treatment if only they had access to it. I've seen great things the last few days, but there are still so many areas we haven't yet reached, and so many people who still need our help. I'll be thinking about that as I travel to Nigeria and Liberia in the next few days.