Bush asks Congress to back AIDS programme

FE Team | Published: February 18, 2008 00:00:00 | Updated: February 01, 2018 00:00:00

DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania, Feb 17 (AP): President George W Bush, on a five-nation visit to Africa, challenged Congress Sunday to renew his global AIDS programme.
With backing from Congress, Bush is behind an emergency HIV/AIDS response that is the largest in history to target an infectious disease. It is up for review this year, and Bush is trying to double its size - from the commitment of $15 billion already spent to $30 billion to be spent over the next five years.
"We don't want people guessing on the continent of Africa whether the generosity of the American people will continue," Bush said in this seacoast city in Tanzania.
Before a news conference, Bush signed a nearly $700 million aid pact to help Tanzania build up its infrastructure. The president of Tanzania praised Bush for his support fighting AIDS and malaria in his country.
Bush, nearing the end of a presidency dominated by the war in Iraq, is targeting disease and poverty in his visits to five African nations. The president and first lady, Laura Bush, began their African trip in Benin in West Africa, then flew to the east coast of the continent to Tanzania. He also plans to visit Rwanda, Ghana and Liberia.
Unlike in the United States (US), where his approval rating hovers near his record lows, Bush is treated here with reverence. A crowd of people, some wearing clothing bearing Bush's image, waved tiny US and Tanzanian flags as the president and Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete walked down a red carpet into the State House in Dar es Salaam.
At the news conference, both leaders dodged a question about the presidential race in the US and the candidacy of Senator Barack Obama, D-Ill., whose father was Kenyan. Obama's grandmother, Sarah Hussein, is following election results at her home in Kogelo, Kenya, none too bothered that her grandson is neck-and-neck with his chief rival, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York.
Bush, momentarily taken aback by a question about the excitement surrounding Obama's candidacy, said: "Seems like there was a lot of excitement for me."
Bush started his statement at the news conference with a folksy "Howdy" in Swahili.
He praised the Tanzanian leader and said he was happy to sign the pact.