    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2003, Book I)]
    [January 31, 2003]
    [Pages 110-114]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks on the Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief
    January 31, 2003

        Thank you all for coming. I'm honored you all are here. I'm so
    grateful that many from the diplomatic corps are here.
        This is a historic year for America. It's a year of great
    consequence. It's a year in which we have an opportunity to work with
    others to shape the future of our globe. We have a chance to achieve
    peace. We have a chance to achieve a more compassionate world for every
    citizen. America believes deeply that everybody has worth, everybody
    matters, everybody was created by the Almighty, and we're going to act
    on that belief, and we'll act on that passion.
        You know, the world looks at us and say, ``They're strong.'' And we
    are. We're strong militarily, but we've got a greater strength than
    that. We've got a strength in the universality of human rights and the
    human condition. It's in our country's history. It's ingrained in our
    soul. And today we're going to describe how we're going to act, not just
    talk, but act, on the basis of our firm beliefs.
        I want to thank Tommy; he's the new
    chairman of the board of the Global Fund. He's also the Secretary of
    Health and Human Services, doing a great job for our administration. I
    want to thank so very much the Ambassadors from Guyana and Uganda for standing
    up here with us today. I appreciate the other ambassadors from the
    continent of Africa and the Caribbean for being here.
        With us as well is Bill Frist, a United
    States Senator, majority leader, passionate advocate of good health care
    for every citizen on the globe, a man with whom this administration will
    work, along with Russ Feingold, from
    Wisconsin, to make sure that the proposal becomes real. That means
    funded. [Laughter] There's no doubt in my mind that when you've got the
    majority leader and a distinguished Senator like Senator Feingold
    teaming up together, that this will get done. It's just a matter of
    time.
        I'm honored that Mark Malloch is here--Mark Malloch Brown Malloch is here, who is the U.N.--administrator of the
    U.N. Development Program. I want to thank--the U.S. Surgeon General
    Carmona is here with us. Rich, thank you for
    coming. Andrew Natsios is USAID
    administrator. Dr. Zerhouni of the NIH is
    with us. Tony Fauci is here with us. There
    are a lot of docs here today. [Laughter] Julie Gerberding of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
    Thank you all for coming today. Les Crawford
    is the deputy commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration.
         And of course, a man who is on my staff who is going to make an
    enormous difference here and abroad as a direct adviser to the
    President, and that's Dr. Joe O'Neill, who's
    the director of National AIDS Policy. He's about as fine a human being
    as you'll ever know. He cares deeply, and his care has had--he's got a
    lot of influence, let me put it to you this way, because of his
    convictions.
        As I mentioned, we're a strong nation, but we're also a blessed
    nation, and it's important for our citizens to recognize it. Richness is
    one thing; recognizing that we're blessed gives a different perspective,
    I think. I think it enhances the fact that we have a responsibility. If
    you're blessed, there is a responsibility to recognize your blessings in
    a compassionate way. Blessings

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    are a two-way street. We've got to understand in this country that if
    you value life and say every life is equal, that includes a suffering
    child on the continent of Africa. If you're worried about freedom,
    that's just not freedom for your neighbor in America; that's freedom for
    people around the globe. It's a universal principle.
        As I said in my State of the Union, freedom is not America's gift to
    the world; freedom is God's gift to humanity. Freedom means freedom from
    a lot of things. And today, on the continent of Africa, freedom means
    freedom from the fear of a deadly pandemic. That's what we think in
    America, and we're going to act on that belief. Our founding belief in
    human dignity should be how we conduct ourselves around the world and
    will be how we conduct ourselves around the world.
        I want you all to remember, and our fellow citizens to remember,
    that this is nothing new for our country. Human dignity has been a part
    of our history for a long time. We fed the hungry after World War I.
    This country carried out the Marshall plan and the Berlin airlift.
        Today we provide 60 percent--over 60 percent of all the
    international food aid. We're acting on our compassion. It's nothing new
    for our country. But there's a pandemic which we must address now,
    before it is too late. And that's why I took this message to our fellow
    citizens, that now is the time for this country to step up our efforts
    to save lives. After all, on the continent of Africa, 30 million people
    have the AIDS virus--30 million people. Three million children under the
    age of 15 have the AIDS virus. More than 4 million people require
    immediate drug treatment. Yet, just about one percent of people receive
    drug treatment. I mean, there is a significant world problem that the
    United States of America can do something about. We can be involved.
        Tommy mentioned the images, the
    horrible images, that take place in Africa. It's important for our
    fellow citizens, as they listen to the dialog on this initiative, to
    understand that there are mass burials and unmarked graves on the
    continent of Africa. So many people are dying that the graves are
    unmarked. The pandemic is creating such havoc that there are mass
    burials, that there are wards of children that are dying because of
    AIDS, not a ward, not some wards, but wards after wards full of dying
    children because of AIDS, that there are millions of orphans, lonely
    children, because their mom or dad has died--children left, in some
    cases, to fend for themselves.
        Because the AIDS diagnosis is considered a death sentence, many
    folks don't seek treatment, and that's a reality. It's as if the AIDS
    pandemic just continues to feed upon itself over and over and over
    again, because of hopelessness. This country needs to provide some hope,
    because this disease can be prevented and it can be treated. That's
    important for our fellow citizens to know. Anti-retroviral drugs are now
    dramatically more affordable in many nations, and these drugs are used
    to extend the lives of those with HIV. In other words, these drugs are
    really affordable.
        And when the treatment has come to Africa, it is also important for
    our citizens to understand the effect of that treatment. It's called the
    Lazarus effect. When one patient is rescued by medicine, as if back from
    the dead, many others with AIDS seek testing and treatment, because it
    is the first sign of hope they have ever seen.
        We have the opportunity to bring that hope to millions. It's an
    opportunity for this Nation to affect millions and millions of lives.
    And so that's why I've laid out the Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief. I
    called it in my State of the Union a work of mercy, and that's what I
    believe it is.
        With approval of Congress, we will devote $15 billion to the fight
    AIDS abroad over the next 5 years, beginning with 2 billion in the year
    2004. I've been asked whether or not we're committed to the Global AIDS
    Fund. Well, first of all, I

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    wouldn't put Tommy as the head of it if we
    weren't. And more importantly, he wouldn't have joined if we weren't.
        And so we're still committed to the Global AIDS Fund to fight
    disease. This program in no way diminishes our commitment to the fund.
    We will continue bilateral AIDS programs in more than 50 countries.
    We've already got bilateral relations with 50 countries with whom we're
    working on AIDS, and we'll continue that program.
        But this plan that I've laid out in front of the Congress, and will
    work with Members of the Senate and the House on, will dramatically
    focus our efforts. You notice I didn't say, ``focus our efforts,'' I
    said, ``dramatically focus our efforts.'' And that's important for the
    American people to understand, because we want to bring a comprehensive
    system. It's more than money that we bring; we bring expertise and
    compassion and love and the desire to develop a comprehensive system,
    work with people in Africa to do so, for diagnosis and treatment and
    prevention.
        We are determined to turn the tide against AIDS. And we're going to
    start in 14 African and Caribbean countries, where the disease is most
    heavily concentrated. We whip it in those 15--or 14--we will show what
    is possible in other countries.
        We're going to be involved with the fund. We'll continue to have
    bilateral aid. We want to have intense focus where the need is most
    severe and show the world what is possible--not just show our fellow
    citizens or show the folks on the continent of Africa, but the world
    needs to see what we can do together. The model has been applied with
    great success in Uganda. Anybody who knows the issue of AIDS on the
    African Continent appreciates the efforts of Uganda. And we feel like
    that it can be duplicated, and that's the mission, the goal. Even though
    we're on 14 countries initially with this major focus, we understand
    there's suffering elsewhere. And we want to expand beyond. We want to
    encourage others to join us as well.
        The funding will initially go toward expanding existing hospitals
    and, of course, drawing on the knowledge and the expertise of local
    physicians. That makes sense. You've got a doc in place, we want to
    encourage that doc to be able to continue his or her healing. We'll
    build satellite facilities that can serve more people. Of course, we'll
    provide antiretroviral drugs and as well work with folks on the ground
    for education and care.
        It's important for our citizens to know that the infrastructure is--
    it's hard for many Americans to imagine the lack of infrastructure that
    we're working with on the continent of Africa. So we use motorcycles,
    trucks, bicycles. We use nurses and local healers to go to the farthest
    villages and farms to test for the disease and to deliver medications
    that will save lives. It doesn't matter how the medications get there;
    what matters is they do get there.
        Facilities across Africa and the Caribbean will have now the
    medicine. And our fellow citizens must understand that the reason they
    do is because of your generosity, the taxpayers of the country. I hope
    when our citizens absorb that knowledge--the massive attempt to save
    lives--that they feel proud of their country and proud of the compassion
    of America. We're going to work with other governments, of course,
    private groups--there's all kinds of faith-based programs involved on
    the continent of Africa, and we welcome that, of course. And we
    encourage that. And we thank you for that.
        A fellow named Father Edward Phillips is
    here. Where are you, Father? Right there, yes. I thought you were Father
    Edward Phillips for a minute. [Laughter] He is in Kenya, works in Kenya.
    He's obviously followed his faith. He leads an organization that
    provides testing and treatment in Nairobi. He's helped thousands of
    people every year. He ought to be giving this speech, not me, because he
    knows what it must feel like to play a significant role

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    in saving lives. And that's what we're here to talk about today, how
    best to save lives.
        And here's what the experts believe that will be accomplished
    through the Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief: that in this decade, we will
    prevent 7 million new infections; that we'll treat at least 2 million
    people with life-extending drugs. We'll provide humane care, of course,
    for those who suffer and, as importantly, for the orphans.
        To me, that's just the beginning. But it's a pretty good start. Most
    important thing is we're providing hope, which is immeasurable. How can
    you possibly measure the benefits of hope? There's no--we can't quantify
    that. But it certainly can be qualified by saying a hopeful society is a
    heck of a lot better society than what they found on the continent
    today.
        This project is urgent, and as we move forward on this program we
    will continue to call upon other nations to join. The United States
    doesn't mind leading, and we believe others have a responsibility as
    well, that we're not the only blessed nation. There are many blessed
    nations. And we hope they join us. And as well we've got a lot of work
    to do here in America. It's important for our fellow citizens never to
    think that one initiative or a major initiative in Africa doesn't mean
    we're going to forget the 900,000 people living in America today who
    carry the HIV virus. Of course we'll never do that. It's important for
    our citizens to understand that there's 40,000 new infections every year
    in this country. It's an issue. It's an issue we must continue to deal
    with.
        The AIDS diagnosis still obviously brings tremendous grief and
    worries in parts of our society. And so the budget I've submitted and
    worked with Congress on will be a request for $16 billion for domestic
    HIV prevention and care and treatment; it's a 7 percent increase over
    '03. It's a $93 million increase for AIDS research. It's $100 million
    more to support the AIDS Drug Assistance Program. This is a program
    which provides funding to purchase AIDS-related medicines for those
    without health coverage. And we're going to help those abroad, and we'll
    help those at home as well.
        We must also move quickly to increase the number of people who are
    tested for HIV. How can you treat if you don't test? How can you help if
    you don't know? And so the Food and Drug Administration recently has
    approved a new HIV test, which can provide results in less than 30
    minutes, with a 99.6 percent accuracy.
        So today I've got an announcement to make, and it's this: That the
    Department of Health and Human Services, after a lot of careful review,
    has waived regulations so that the test will soon be more readily
    available to doctors and public health facilities throughout the
    country.
        As I've said, it's going to be a significant year for our country.
    I'm a person who believes that there's no obstacle put in our path that
    we can't overcome; I truly believe that. I love what our country stands
    for. I love the strength of America. The strength of America really is
    the--lies in the hearts and souls of our fellow citizens.
        As we move forward into the 21st century, there's no doubt we can
    help the people on the African Continent, while we help our own folks at
    home with the deadly disease. There's no doubt we can arrest the
    pandemic. There's no doubt we can bring hope in all parts of the world,
    not only in Africa but in neighborhoods in our own country where people
    wonder what the American Dream means. There's no doubt in my mind we can
    make the world more peaceful.
        Today's initiative is one--it's a step toward showing the world the
    great compassion of a great country.
        Thanks for coming, and God bless.

    Note: The President spoke at 11:31 a.m. in Room 450 of the Dwight D.
    Eisenhower Executive Office Building. In his remarks, he referred to
    Odeen Ishmael, Guyana's Ambassador to the U.S.; Edith Grace Ssempala,

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    Uganda's Ambassador to the U.S.; Anthony S. Fauci, Director, National
    Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, National Institutes of
    Health; and Father Edward Phillips, chairperson, Eastern Deanery CBHC
    and AIDS Relief Program.