    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2003, Book I)]
    [May 27, 2003]
    [Pages 541-544]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks on Signing the United States Leadership Against HIV/AIDS,
    Tuberculosis, and Malaria Act of 2003
    May 27, 2003

        Thank you all very much. I'm so pleased that so many could be here
    to witness this historic moment, as our Nation sets forth a great
    mission of rescue. The United States of America has a long tradition of
    sacrifice in the cause of freedom, and we've got a long tradition of
    being generous in the service of humanity. We are the Nation of the
    Marshall plan, the Berlin airlift, and the Peace Corps. And now we're
    the Nation of the Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief.
        HIV/AIDS is one of the greatest medical challenges of our time. The
    disease has killed more than 20 million people. Today, 42 million more
    are living with HIV. Across Africa, this disease is filling graveyards
    and creating orphans and leaving millions in a desperate fight for their
    own lives. They will not fight alone, because they will have the help
    and the friendship of the United States of America.
        The legislation I sign today launches an emergency effort that will
    provide $15 billion over the next 5 years to fight AIDS abroad. This is
    the largest single upfront commitment in history for an international
    public health initiative involving a specific disease.
        America makes this commitment for a clear reason, directly rooted in
    our founding. We believe in the value and dignity of every human life.
    In the face of preventable death and suffering, we have a moral duty to
    act, and we are acting.
        I want to thank Tommy Thompson and
    Colin Powell for their leadership on this
    crucial issue. There are no better people than to trust in seeing that
    the great heart and compassion of America is recognized in our world
    through accomplishment.
        I appreciate Tony Fauci  who's here.
    Tony has been on the frontline of the war against HIV/AIDS for a long
    time. And I appreciate you representing the National Institute of
    Allergies and Infectious Diseases. I appreciate Rich Carmona, who's the U.S. Surgeon General, for joining us.
    Thank you for being here, Rich. I want to thank a member of my staff,
    the Director of the Office of National AIDS Policy, Dr. Joseph
    O'Neill, for his leadership.
        It is my honor to recognize Dr. Kenneth Kaunda  the former President of Zambia is with us today as well.
        I'm grateful that the Ambassadors and the senior officials from
    African and Caribbean nations are with us. I appreciate their
    leadership. Send a message back home that we are earnest and determined
    to help you wipe out AIDS in your country.
        I want to thank all the faith-based and community activists and
    leaders who are here who share our passion and desire to help those who
    suffer. Your efforts took

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    place long before we arrived here in Washington or, at least, I arrived
    here in Washington, and all we want to do is stand by your side as we
    march down the road of a hopeful tomorrow for people who suffer.
        I want to thank the Members of the House and the Senate who are
    here. Bill Frist has been a leader on this issue,
    and he, along with Senator Richard Lugar
    and Senator Joe Biden,  Jr. the Senate
    Foreign Relations Committee, delivered. Mr. Leader, thank you.
        I appreciate my friend Congressman Tom Lantos
    for being here. He represents the House Foreign Relations Committee.
    Chairman Hyde is not here, but nevertheless,
    the two worked really well together.
        I am pleased to see Senators Santorum and
    DeWine are here. Thank you all for coming, and
    thank you for your leadership on this issue. I also want to thank the
    Members of the House, Congressmen Pitts,
    Smith, King,
    and Congresswoman Barbara Lee, for joining us as
    well. Thank you all for your interest, and thanks for coming.
        When I stood in front of the Congress 4 months ago, I was confident
    that the U.S. Congress would respond. I was confident that they would
    hear the call for a bold initiative, and they responded. And they have
    my gratitude, and they have the gratitude of millions around the world
    for their leadership on this issue. And I want to thank you all very
    much.
        This Act of Congress addresses one of the most urgent needs of the
    modern world. Because of the AIDS pandemic, a child born today in sub-
    Sahara Africa has a life expectancy of 47 years. This disease falls most
    heavily on women and children. Nearly 60 percent of those infected by
    HIV in sub-Sahara Africa are women. Three million African children under
    15 have the AIDS virus--3 million. And the disease has left 11 million
    orphans, more children than live in the entire State of California.
        Behind these numbers are names. There is Mbongeni, a 15-year-old boy
    who lost both his mother and father to AIDS and now struggles to feed
    his two siblings and two nephews. There is Leonora, the mother of five
    in Kenya, who cares for five other children she has taken into her home,
    all of them AIDS orphans, all of whom would be on the streets without
    her love. There is Ruth, a young mother dying of AIDS at 24, ostracized
    by her late husband's family, asking, ``Who will take care of my
    children?''
        This is the daily reality of a continent in crisis, and America will
    not look away. This great Nation is stepping forward to help. The fight
    against AIDS is difficult but not hopeless. We know how to prevent AIDS,
    and we know how to treat it. The cost of effective medicines has fallen
    dramatically. And we made progress here in our own country where we have
    increased spending for domestic HIV prevention and care and treatment by
    7 percent in next year's budget. We will also help the people across
    Africa who are struggling against this disease and those who have proven
    on a day-by-day basis the battle can be won.
        We see hope in the work of individuals like the former President of
    Zambia who lost his son to AIDS, a son who
    left several children to the care of their grandfather. The good
    President turned his grief to good works and created the Kenneth Kaunda
    Children of Africa Foundation. His foundation pays for food and medical
    care and schooling for AIDS orphans. Mr. President, we honor you for
    your service and for the example you have shown to others who live on
    your ravished continent. Thank you for coming today, sir.
        We see hope in the many religious and educational institutions that
    are doing effective work on the frontline of the AIDS crisis. The
    Catholic Medical Mission Board, for example, runs 15 clinics in southern
    Africa and Haiti, where more than 20,000 pregnant women each year
    receive HIV testing and counseling and drug therapy to prevent the
    transmission of the virus to their children.

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        I want to thank Jack Galbraith for the
    fine work of Catholic Medical Mission. And I want to thank all of you
    all who have heard that call to love a neighbor just like you'd like to
    be loved yourself. Thank you for your service to those who suffer. May
    God continue to bless your work.
        We see hope in the actions of African governments that are acting
    responsibly and aggressively to fight AIDS. The nation of Uganda is
    pursuing a successful strategy of prevention, emphasizing abstinence and
    marital fidelity as well as the responsible use of condoms to prevent
    HIV transmission. The results in Uganda have been remarkable. The AIDS
    infection rate has fallen sharply since 1990, and in some places the
    percentage of pregnant women with HIV has been cut in half. The Uganda
    plan is proving that major progress is possible.
        And now we must spread that progress to suffering nations throughout
    the world. By the legislation I will sign today, the United States of
    America will take the side of individuals and groups and governments
    fighting HIV/AIDS in Africa and other parts of the world. We'll provide
    unprecedented resources to the effort, and we will keep our commitment
    until we have turned the tide against AIDS.
        Under this legislation, America will provide additional money for
    the Global Fund for AIDS Relief and additional funding for our efforts
    in many countries to prevent mother-to-child transmission of the
    disease. And we will focus our efforts on 12 African and 2 Caribbean
    countries where HIV/AIDS is heavily concentrated.
        We will purchase low-cost antiretroviral medications and other drugs
    that are needed to save lives. We will set up a broad and efficient
    network to deliver drugs to the farthest reaches of Africa, even by
    motorcycle or bicycle. We will train doctors and nurses and other health
    care professionals so they can treat HIV/AIDS patients. We will renovate
    and, where necessary, build and equip clinics and laboratories. We will
    support the care of AIDS orphans by training and hiring childcare
    workers. We'll provide home-based care to ease the suffering of people
    living with AIDS.
        We'll provide HIV testing throughout all regions of the targeted
    countries. We'll support abstinence-based prevention education for young
    people in schools and churches and community centers. We will assist
    faith-based and community organizations to provide treatment,
    prevention, and support services in communities affected by HIV/AIDS. We
    are developing a system to monitor and evaluate this entire program, so
    we can truly say to people, ``We care more about results than words.
    We're interested in lives saved.'' And lives will be saved.
        This comprehensive program has the potential in this decade to
    prevent 7 million new HIV infections, provide life-extending drugs to at
    least 2 million infected people, give humane care to 10 million HIV
    sufferers and AIDS orphans. This is a massive undertaking, and the
    dedicated men and women of the United States Government are eager to get
    started.
        To coordinate this effort, I will soon nominate a global AIDS
    coordinator who will have the rank of ambassador. This coordinator will
    work closely with the Departments of State and Health and Human
    Services, as well as with USAID and the Centers for Disease Control, to
    direct the efforts in the worldwide fight against AIDS.
        I'm going to Europe here at the end of this week, and I will
    challenge our partners and our friends to follow our lead and to make a
    similar commitment made by the United States of America so we can save
    even more lives.
        I will remind them that time is not on our side. Every day of delay
    means 8,000 more AIDS deaths in Africa and 14,000 more infections--every
    day, 14,000 more people will be infected. I'll urge our European
    partners and Japan and Canada to join this great mission of rescue, to
    match their good intentions with real resources.

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        The suffering in Africa is great. The suffering in the Caribbean is
    great. The United States of America has the power and we have the moral
    duty to help. And I'm proud that our blessed and generous Nation is
    fulfilling that duty.
        Now it is my honor and high privilege to sign this lifesaving piece
    of legislation. God bless you all.

    Note: The President spoke at 2:20 p.m. in the Dean Acheson Auditorium at
    the U.S. Department of State. In his remarks, he referred to
    Representatives Christopher H. Smith of New Jersey and Peter T. King of
    New York; and John Galbraith, president and chief executive officer,
    Catholic Medical Mission Board. H.R. 1298, approved May 27, was assigned
    Public Law No. 108-25.