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Bush sees determination in Africa
2008-02-16 09:21:55
By Guardian Reporter
US President George W. Bush, who is expected to jet in the country this evening, has said he had seen the determination of the people across Africa and the compassion of the people of the United States of America.
Speaking at the White House in Washington, DC, yesterday President Bush said: ``The compassion is at work through US initiatives that improve education, reduce poverty and fight pandemic disease``.
In his remarks President Bush cited Malaria, HIV/Aids as the greatest threat for a successful Africa.
``Two out of every three people afflicted with HIV/Aids live in sub-Saharan Africa. The disease is the leading cause of death in the region,`` he said.
Just a few years ago, there were fears that HIV/Aids could wipe out much of the continent`s population, with death rates that would rival the Black Plague of the Middle Ages.
``We responded with the Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief. It`s the largest international health initiative in history to fight a single disease. In 2002 we pledged USD 15 billion over five years to support HIV/Aids prevention, treatment and care,`` he said.
On the economy, President Bush said in recent years African nations have taken impressive steps to improve their investment climates. He said the best way to generate economic growth in Africa is to expand trade and investment.
``When businesses in Africa can sell their products and services around the globe they create a culture of self-reliance and opportunity.
One of the most powerful incentives for trade is the African Growth and Opportunity
Act. Since 2001, exports from sub-Saharan Africa to the United States have tripled. It`s also important for our citizens to know that US exports to sub-Saharan Africa have more than doubled,`` he said.
The US president was optmistic that in the long run, the best way to lift lives in Africa is to tear down barriers to investment and trade around the world.
On malaria, President Bush explained that the disease takes as many lives as HIV/Aids, whereby the vast majority of those taken by malaria are children under the age of five.
He however said: ``Every one of these deaths is unnecessary, because the disease is entirely preventable and treatable. So in 2005, America launched a five-year, USD 1.2 billion initiative to provide the insecticide-treated bednets, indoor spraying, cutting-edge drugs that are necessary to defeat this disease.``
He described Africa as a place where democracy is advancing, where economies are growing and leaders are meeting challenges with purpose and determination.
He said Africa is the birthplace of humanity, the home of great civilizations, and the source of enduring achievements in culture and art.
He also said Africa has also witnessed some of humankind\'s most shameful chapters -- from the evils of the slave trade to the condescension of colonialism.
``Even the joy of independence - which arrived with such promise - was undermined by corruption, conflict, and disease,`` he noted.
He however said Africa is changing as a new generation of African leaders is stepping forward and turning their continent around, adding that international organisations and faith-based groups and the private sector are more engaged than ever.
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