WASHINGTON, Feb 1 (AFP) - US President George W. Bush on Saturday tried to drum up public support for his plan to help AIDS patients in Africa and the Caribbean, vowing to bring "the merciful powers of modern medicine to people in great need."
"Through all our efforts to fight disease and hunger, we can spare people in many nations from untold suffering, and Africa especially," Bush said in his weekly radio address.
"Today in Africa, nearly 30 million people have the AIDS virus," he continued, adding that his plan will provide medicine that "will prevent seven million new AIDS infections, treat at least two million people with life-extending drugs, and provide humane care for millions of people suffering from AIDS and for children orphaned by AIDS. "
In his State of the Union address late Tuesday where the US president first unveiled the initiative, Bush pledged to spend 15 billion dollars (14 billion euros) on AIDS prevention and care over the next five years.
The administration's "Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief," will help prevent seven million new HIV infections, treat at least two million people with life-extending drugs and provide care for millions with the illness or the orphans of victims, the US president said.
"America has a special calling to come to their aid and we will do so with the compassion and generosity that have always defined the United States," he said Saturday.
"Millions are facing great affliction, but with our help, they will not face it alone."
The United Nations has said it needs 10 billion dollars per year to fight AIDS, a quarter of it from Washington, but Bush has often argued against giving a large sum of money over which Washington will not have control.
Countries due to receive priority treatment under the US plan are Botswana, Ethiopia, Guyana, Haiti, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.
One billion dollars of the money will be earmarked for The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB (tuberculosis) and Malaria -- an international fund launched by the UN in 2001 but which is independent from it.
The new White House plan reflects the administration's preference for dealing directly with groups and countries, as opposed to multinational groups already at work in the field.
In his radio address, Bush urged lawmakers in the US Congress to allocate an additional 10 billion dollars to an "emergency plan" to combat the spread of AIDS in the hardest-hit areas of Africa and the Caribbean.
"This plan, coupled with our ongoing efforts, will nearly triple our current annual spending on the global fight against AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis," he added
Bush also touted US food aid plans for the coming year.
"My budget for 2004 calls for more than one billion dollars to meet emergency food needs worldwide," he said, including a "200 million-dollar famine fund to bring immediate assistance to Africa and other regions facing starvation."
"We will encourage friends around the world to set up similar funds and leverage our combined resources to provide the most help to famine-stricken lands," Bush said.
030201
AF030202
©AFP 2003. All Rights Reserved. AFP articles contained on the AEGiS web site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without AFP's prior written permission. You may make one copy of each article for your personal, non-commercial use only; more copies would require AFP's prior written permission. obtained from the owners of any trademarks or copyrighted materials whose marks and materials are included in AFP photos or materials. Therefore you will be solely responsible for obtaining any and all necessary releases from whatever individuals and/or entities necessary for any uses of AFP stories, photos or graphics. - http://www.afp.com/
AEGiS is made possible through unrestricted grants from Boehringer Ingelheim, the National Library of Medicine, and donations from users like you. Always watch for outdated information. This article first appeared in 2003. This material is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between you and your doctor.
©1990, 2003 - AEGiS. AEGiS presents published material, reprinted with permission and neither endorses nor opposes any material. All materials appearing on AEGiS are protected by copyright as a collective work or compilation under U.S. copyright and other laws and are the property of AEGiS, or the party credited as the provider of the content.
