Santana / ANSA Press Release
In answer to the escalating HIV/AIDS crisis in Africa, Carlos and Deborah Santana have announced they will dedicate their proceeds from the United States portion of the Shaman World Tour to Artists For A New South Africa (ANSA). Funds will be earmarked for grants and material aid to effective South African non-profit organizations working on the frontlines to combat HIV/AIDS through prevention, treatment, care, destigmatization, advocacy, infrastructure development and mitigation of impact.
Carlos and Deborah fervently hope that the awareness raised by The Shaman Tour’s partnership with ANSA will initiate increased global attention and humanitarian response to the pressing and tragic crisis Africa faces. The AIDS pandemic is the worst health crisis in modern history. More than 42 million people worldwide are infected with HIV/AIDS, and over 28 million are African. Unless significant action is taken now, by 2010 there will be 100 million people infected worldwide and over 44 million African children orphaned by the disease. South Africa is at the very epicenter of the AIDS pandemic; with more people living with the disease than in any other country and one of the fastest spread rates in the world. In a country of approximately 42 million people, already over five million have HIV/AIDS, and over 1,600 more are infected daily. 700,000 South Africans have already died from AIDS, and 600 more die daily. There is profound concern about the government’s lack of action in the face of this public health catastrophe. Archbishop Desmond Tutu calls AIDS “the new apartheid,” because most South Africans, and a majority of people in the developing world, cannot afford adequate care and treatment.
There are, however, real reasons to have hope. Not only can this disease be prevented and treated, South Africa also has the most advanced medical infrastructure on the African continent and is home to some of the world’s bravest and most talented AIDS activists. And Santana Fans can be a part of the effort by purchasing a ticket to one of the concerts on this summer’s US tour.
ANSA is working to make a real difference in this grave battle, where time is of the essence. ANSA’s founders and board members are honored to be part of this precedent-setting way of raising awareness about the crisis and money to help fight it. The Santana’s’ initiative sends out an urgent call and sets an important example for any and everyone to participate in the work to halt AIDS. It also sends a vitally needed message to African people who are suffering the worst effects of the pandemic and battling on the frontlines that there are people in America who truly care about their plight.
ANSA is a non-profit organization of artists, philanthropists, entertainment industry professionals, activists and others dedicated to combating the African AIDS pandemic, advancing democracy and equality in South Africa and furthering civil rights in the U.S.
Founded in 1989 to support South Africa’s quest for freedom and democracy, ANSA now works to redress the complex economic and social inequities, which are apartheid’s legacies.
Since 1995, ANSA has raised over $5 million for effective South African charities, shipped more than 60 tons of books and medical supplies to impoverished communities and given grants and scholarships to: fight HIV/AIDS; combat hunger and illiteracy; support arts education for disadvantaged youth; develop micro-enterprises to reduce poverty and unemployment amongst young adults; fund women’s economic self-help farming and craft cooperatives; document and preserve South African culture and history; and offer psychological rehabilitation for South African survivors of torture and for former child soldiers in Mozambique.
ANSA’s founders, board members and leading supporters include: Gillian Anderson, Johnny Clegg, Mary Steenburgen & Ted Danson, Laurence Fishburne, Danny Glover, Robert & Donna Brown Guillaume, Samuel L. Jackson & LaTanya Richardson Jackson, Alexandra Paul, CCH Pounder, Blair & Désirée Underwood, Denzel & Pauletta Washington and Alfre Woodard.
For more information on ANSA and to make a donation to the fight against HIV/AIDS visit their website at www.ansafrica.org.