USIS Washington File - January 18, 2006
Charles W. Corey, Washington File Staff Writer

Washington - U.S. first lady Laura Bush January 18 announced a new U.S. commitment of $163 million to fight AIDS in Nigeria and presented an initial shipment of anti-retroviral drugs to the St. Mary's Catholic Hospital outside the Nigerian capital of Abuja.

While in Nigeria she also said education is a Bush administration priority in Africa, adding that Americans share Africa's goals for greater economic development.

The anti-retroviral drugs presented at the hospital seek to strengthen efforts to prevent mother-to-child transmission of the deadly virus and will be used to treat more than 500 patients now living with HIV/AIDS.

The first lady was in Nigeria on the third and final stop of an African trip that also took her to Liberia and Ghana.

While in Nigeria, the first lady also visited the National Center for Women Development. Addressing the women at the center, she said, "The people of the United States share your goal, and the women of the United States know your struggle.

"It was only in the last century, 150 years after our Declaration of Independence," she reminded her audience, "that women attained the vote in the United States. Young girls need role models whose lives are examples of achievement," she said.

The first lady also reminded everyone that African women increasingly are assuming leadership roles in their governments.

"On Monday, the world witnessed the inauguration of Liberia's president, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf. President Johnson-Sirleaf is the first woman to be elected the leader of an African nation. This is a historic time -- for Liberia, for Africa, and for women everywhere," she said. (see related article.)

"The question we must answer now is how do we nurture the development of the next generation of women leaders in Africa and worldwide," she said, offering education as the answer to that question.

"Education is the foundation of a happy and healthy life. Educated children grow up to be adults who have more opportunities to work, to support their families, and to fully participate in the life of their communities.

"Sadly," she told her audience, "too many children around the world do not have access to education." She called the problem "particularly acute" in sub-Saharan Africa.

"The people of the United States believe in Africa's future," the first lady, a former librarian and teacher, said, pledging that the United States would work with African nations to make education more widely available.

"Education in Africa is a priority for President Bush," she said, noting that the Africa Education Initiative is a $600 million commitment to provide books, scholarships, school uniforms and teacher training so that more children can attend school.

The initiative includes funding to train 920,000 teachers in 20 countries in sub-Saharan Africa. As of December 2005, more than 300,000 new and experienced teachers had received training. The initiative also has facilitated the shipment of more than 2 million books to African schools and libraries. (See fact sheet.)

A major goal of President Bush's Africa Education Initiative is to enroll more girls in school, she said. To meet that goal, the United States sponsors the Ambassadors' Girls' Scholarship Program, which will provide 550,000 scholarships to girls at the primary and secondary level. So far, she said, 120,000 scholarships have been provided in 40 countries. The scholarships pay for tuition, fees, books, uniforms and other essential supplies.

"The people of the United States are pleased to work with schools in Nigeria to make education a reality for thousands of students. We support these scholarships, because we believe that investing in a child's education will produce benefits many times over in the future," she said.

THE LINK BETWEEN EDUCATION AND HEALTH

Education is important, the first lady said, because education produces many social benefits, perhaps none greater than better health.

She said the United States is working with governments and private organizations throughout Africa to prevent HIV/AIDS, and to provide treatment and care to those who are already infected by the disease. Educated girls and boys are more likely to know what HIV is and how to prevent infection.

"Through the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the people of the United States are supporting treatment for more than 400,000 men, women and children in 15 focus countries, including 29,000 people in Nigeria," the first lady said, adding that the United States' partnership with Nigeria, led by Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, has been a vital component of this success.

The Nigerian leader, she said, stood with President Bush and U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan at the White House in the Rose Garden in December 2002 for the announcement of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. (See related article.)

In 2004, the first lady said, the United States provided Nigeria with almost $71 million through the PEPFAR program, to prevent, treat and manage the effects of HIV/AIDS. In 2005, she said, the United States provided more than $110 million, and she again reminded everyone of her announcement earlier in the day that in 2006, the United States is providing more than $163 million to overcome HIV/AIDS in Nigeria.

"The United States is proud to work with the people of Nigeria on many important issues. We will continue to work together to help the next generation reach its full potential," she concluded.

For additional information on the United States' outreach to the continent, see U.S. (U.S. Aid to Africa.)

A transcript of the first lady's remarks is available on the White House Web site.

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