Despite the climbing death tolls, Rivers said countries within and outside of Africa have not spent money on AIDS education.
"The South African government has spent only $5 million on AIDS education and care programs in the last five years," Rivers said. "At the same time they have spent $6.5 billion on three new submarines and other military hardware."
Rivers said he saw the problem of AIDS in Africa firsthand when he visited Zimbabwe in 1997.
He has since visited the continent several times and has begun lobbying heavily to have major media organizations and political figures take notice of the epidemic, a fight he said has not been easy.
Rivers said he has struggled the most with getting African-American leaders in the United States to fight against AIDS in Africa.
"No one in the black political leadership is willing to take on this issue," Rivers said.
"This is more devastating than the trans-Atlantic slave trade," Rivers added. "At least with slavery, I had a shot at life."
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