Summary
Race Against Time is a powerful book about the deadly pandemic occurring in Africa. It discusses the high infant and female mortality rates caused by AIDS, HIV and malaria. In addition, other important issues are also brought to the foreground such as poverty, the lack of universal primary education, the increasing number of orphans, and the lack of economic progress in Africa over the past few decades. Lewis wrote Race Against Time as a means to communicate with influential Canadian policy makers. Lewis calls Canadian politicians hypocrites for not honouring the promise of donating 0.7 percent of GDP for African relief, despite Canada’s successive surpluses. He is frustrated with and ashamed of the Canadian government: “We promised and continue to promise to reach the 0.7 percent. We are the author of the promise. Everyone knows that. Everyone on the international scene thinks it’s the height of hypocrisy to propound the policy and then fail to meet it. It’s no accident that all of the major witnesses who have come before the Foreign Affairs committee of the Canadian House of Commons since April 2003…have all begged Canada to declare a timetable to reach 0.7 percent. Canada steadfastly refuses to do so.” (Lewis, 32-33). His accusations against the procrastinating Canadian government and his desperation to find a solution for Africa, becomes even more evident when he states, "We are in a desperate race against time, and we're losing." (Lewis, 145). Lewis becomes so enraged and disgusted with Canadian politicians that he even accuses them of lacking integrity since they renounced their endorsement of 0.7 percent by 2015 upon their return to Canada. However, despite all of the challenges that Africa has to face in the new millennium, Lewis still remains hopeful at the end of his book when fighting for the rights of women and children.
