Though South Africa has the highest rate of HIV-positive people in the world, Frost said USAid is on the right path to battling the problem. The country overcame apartheid only 14 years ago, and there have been many cultural barriers to overcome, he said. "What other alternative do we have?" he said. "(If we do nothing), the southern half of the continent will fall apart. ... It's a very solvable problem. We can get the medicine out there and reduce the rate of infection. It's very doable, but it's going to take a lot of commitment and resources." Already, Frost said, the organization's efforts are paying off. "I don't think most Americans know what USAid is or how many lives it affects in a positive way," he said. "We should be proud of the effect we are having. You meet (people from other countries) who are extremely grateful. They know what we are and are very thankful for what we do."
Hungary RPCV Chris Frost is a procurement officer with the United States Agency for International Development, trying to combat the HIV/AIDS crisis in South Africa and Namibia
Macon native working to battle HIV in parts of Africa
By Phillip Ramati - pramati@macon.com
Caption: Chris Frost relaxes Tuesday with his wife, Anna, and son, David. Photo: Jason Vorhees, The Telegraph
USAid/SA devotes much of its work to combating HIV and AIDS in the southern part of Africa. About 75 percent of South Africans are infected with the virus, and USAid currently provides care for more than 200,000 people. To learn more, visit http://southafrica.usaid.gov or http://pretoria.usembassy.gov/wwwhaids.html.
Many years ago, Chris Frost told his father that he didn't want to wake up one day with a wife, a couple of kids and a white picket fence without doing something extraordinary with his life.
That shouldn't be an issue anymore.
Now 40, Frost is married and has a 13-month-old son, David. But his life is far from typical. He has been doing significant things ever since he graduated from college.
The Central High School alumnus currently is a procurement officer with the United States Agency for International Development, trying to combat the HIV/AIDS crisis in South Africa and Namibia.
"I don't think people understand the scale of the problem," Frost said. "Thirty percent of South Africans are HIV-positive. They are losing all these teachers, policemen, journalists, doctors. The whole fabric of society is dying off. If you lose that teacher, it impacts the kids that teacher would teach."
After graduating from Wofford College, Frost joined the Peace Corps and worked in Hungary, where he met his wife, Anna.
He then took a job disposing of hazardous waste in Hungary, Bosnia and Croatia before joining the U.S. Embassy there and working with USAid.
After a stint in the private sector, Frost realized something was missing.
"It wasn't personally rewarding," he said.
Frost decided to go back into public service, something that's been a family tradition. His paternal grandmother served as mayor of Portland, Maine, and Chris' mother, Jan, worked for Volunteer Macon for years.
All of Chris' brothers do some sort of community work in their spare time.
"He's always had a desire to do something significant somewhere," his father, Brant Frost, said.
"He was inclined to do something to make a difference."
That didn't make it any easier for the Frosts to watch Chris leave the country.
"It was like Abraham and Isaac letting him go," his father said.
"There were all the things a parent worries about, but it was overcome by pride. This kid was going to do something significant."
Working with USAid in Bulgaria, much of Frost's job was to help build up the country's legal system.
In Hungary, he helped start a stock exchange and national bank.
Since being assigned to South Africa and Namibia nearly six months ago, Frost has focused on helping to battle the HIV/AIDS crisis there.
Much of his and the organization's work is not only battling the disease with medicine but also with education and regional development.
Though South Africa has the highest rate of HIV-positive people in the world, Frost said USAid is on the right path to battling the problem.
The country overcame apartheid only 14 years ago, and there have been many cultural barriers to overcome, he said.
"What other alternative do we have?" he said. "(If we do nothing), the southern half of the continent will fall apart. ... It's a very solvable problem. We can get the medicine out there and reduce the rate of infection. It's very doable, but it's going to take a lot of commitment and resources."
Already, Frost said, the organization's efforts are paying off.
"I don't think most Americans know what USAid is or how many lives it affects in a positive way," he said. "We should be proud of the effect we are having. You meet (people from other countries) who are extremely grateful. They know what we are and are very thankful for what we do."
To contact writer Phillip Ramati, call 744-4334.
