Bush Strives for a Legacy: Fighting AIDS in Africa
President to call on Congress to fight disease, focusing on Africa.
May 29, 2007 — -- President Bush called on Congress to spend $30 billion on what he called a "great and noble efort." The president wants Congress to double the amount he called for in his 2003 State of the Union address, over the next five years to combat AIDS in Africa.
In a Rose Garden news conference, he announced that the First Lady will embark on a 4-nation Africa trip on June 25-29. She will visit Mali, Zambia, Senegal and Mozambique.
With the president increasingly isolated by the Iraq war, and facing all-time low approval ratings, the White House is viewing Africa as a place where Bush can claim a legacy.
By the end of 2008, the U.S. will have spent more than $18 billion fighting AIDS in Africa since his 2003 State of the Union, treating about 1 million people.
The White House has concentrated its efforts on 15 focus countries -- mostly in Africa -- that are home to approximately half of the world's 39 million HIV-positive people.
Those countries are: Botswana, Cote d'Ivoire, Ethiopia, Guyana, Haiti, Kenya, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Vietnam, and Zambia.
Under the new proposal, those people would continue to be treated and a total of 2.5 million will be treated over the next five years.
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