CRAWFORD, Texas, Nov 29 (AFP) - President George W. Bush on Friday urged people to commemorate Worlds AIDS Day on December 1, and pledged US support and funds to fight the spread of the disease.

"The HIV/AIDS Pandemic has taken the lives of more than 20 million people and is projected to take millions more," Bush said in a statement.

"By raising awareness and promoting acceptance of people living with HIV/AIDS, we improve the lives of millions of people around the world and demonstrate the compassion of our Nation," he added.

The Bush administration has requested 2.9 billion dollars for research on vaccines and treatments to combat the disease in 2003, the statement said, pointing out that it was a significant increase over last year's funding.

It also pledged 500 million dollars to the new International Mother and Child HIV Prevention Initiative, which will focus on countries in Africa and the Caribbean.

The statement also said that the United States intends to provide more than 1.3 billion dollars in 2003 to international efforts to combat HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria, a 30 percent increase over the 2002 commitment.

However 500 million dollars will go to the Global Fund launched by the United Nations in 2001 to fight combat HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria. US critics have argued that the United States, which spends about 15-20 percent of it's annual HIV/AIDS spending abroad, should concentrate more of its efforts nationally.

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