[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2006, Book II)]
[December 14, 2006]
[Pages 2180-2185]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]
Remarks at the White House Summit on Malaria
December 14, 2006
The President. Thank you. Please be seated. Thanks for inviting me
to what sounded like a festive occasion. [Laughter] I'm honored to be
here. I'm pleased to visit with you all here at the National Geographic
Society, and I want to thank you for inviting me to come to this
important conference. I appreciate all of today's speakers,
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including my personal favorite--[laughter]--Laura.
As you conclude this summit, we turn our thoughts to those who carry
the burden of sickness during this holiday season. There are members of
our own families here in America who are ill, and they live in villages
halfway around the world. For many of their illnesses, there is a known
relief; for many, there is no known relief. Yet for malaria, we know
exactly what it takes to prevent and treat the disease. The only
question is whether we have the will to act. All of you have heard the
call to act, and you have responded, and I appreciate your compassion.
Because of your work, children who once wanted [sic] to die are now
preparing to live, and whole regions are replacing suffering and fear
with hope and health. We can take pride in the progress we have made,
and today we will renew our commitment to a world without malaria.
I've just had a state visit, an important visit, with a remarkable
leader from Benin. Mr. President and Mrs.
Yayi, welcome to America, and thank
you for being here.
The President is committed to a free
society. He understands the need to confront illness so his people can
live in peace. And, Mr. President, I thank you very much for your
commitment and your willingness to work with those who want to help to
eliminate malaria in your country.
I want to thank members of my Cabinet who are here, particularly
Madam Secretary of Education, Margaret Spellings. Thanks for coming. I thank Randy Tobias. He's the Director of USAID. He, by the way, led
the initiative to help put America squarely in the fight to eliminate
HIV/AIDS on the continent of Africa. Randy, you will have a wonderful
legacy in your service to our country, and I want to thank you.
I appreciate Admiral Tony [Timothy]* Ziemer. He is the U.S. Malaria Coordinator. I see a lot of
people who are working hard in my administration on these initiatives,
and I thank you for your participation. I thank members of the
diplomatic corps who have joined us. I want to thank Members of
Congress--I think that's Senator Leahy,
Senator Frist--[laughter]--thank you all for
coming. Thank you for taking an interest in it--Congressman
Smith. I'd better stop. [Laughter] I
think I'm going to leave somebody out. But I want to thank you all for
your interest in this initiative.
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*White House correction.
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I appreciate John Fahey--he's the president
and CEO of National Geographic Society--and Gil Grosvenor. I want to thank Ray Chambers, who is the chairman of the board of Malaria No More. I
thank all the social entrepreneurs who are here. I think people will
understand that there is a call to act when we see a crisis at hand, and
I want to thank you for acting. I appreciate Isaiah
Washington, who is the emcee of this
event. I want to thank all the program participants. Thank you all for
coming.
By bringing together such a wide variety of people, this summit is
sending a clear message that we are determined to defeat malaria. We are
also sending a broader message about America's purpose in the world. In
this new century, there is a great divide between those who place no
value on human life and rejoice in the suffering of others and those who
believe that every life has matchless value and answer suffering with
compassion and kindness.
The contrast is vivid, and the position of America is clear: We will
lead the cause of freedom, justice, and hope, because both our values
and our interests demand it. We believe in the timeless truth, to whom
much is given, much is required. We also know that nations with free,
healthy, prosperous people will be sources of stability, not breeding
grounds for extremists and hate and terror. By making the world more
hopeful, we make the world more peaceful. And by helping others, the
American people must understand, we help ourselves.
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One area in which America has a tremendous potential to help is in
the fight against malaria. At home, malaria was eliminated decades ago.
It is possible to eliminate malaria. In Africa, malaria remains a
persistent killer. I think our citizens will be amazed to hear that last
year, about a million Africans died of malaria. The vast majority were
children under five, their lives ended by nothing more than a mosquito
bite. In some countries, more people die of malaria than HIV/AIDS, and
last week, a new study showed that people who contract malaria become
more likely to spread HIV. The burden of malaria costs sub-Saharan
Africa an estimated $12 billion a year. And if the disease continues to
spread, the cost in lives and lost productivity is going to grow
exponentially worse. Now is the time to act.
Allowing Africa to continue on that path is just simply
unacceptable. So we are acting, and we're leading. And with partners
across the world, we are helping the people of Africa turn the tide
against malaria. The goal of defeating malaria is a challenging goal,
yet it can be done. It's not going to require a miracle; it just
requires a smart, sustained, focused effort. And that's what we're here
to talk about.
Experts have identified four key steps for combating malaria in
Africa: distributing insecticide-treated bed nets, expanding indoor
insecticide spraying, providing antimalaria medicine to pregnant women,
and delivering cutting-edge drugs to people with the disease. These are
four things that, if done, will save lives. They are not impossible
things to do. I believe that our country must help and continue to take
the lead. That's why last year, I announced an initiative to increase
our commitment to fighting malaria in Africa. And I want to thank the
Members of Congress for supporting this initiative.
We're spending $1.2 billion over 5 years to provide bed nets and
indoor spraying and antimalaria medicine in 15 African countries. We are
focusing our efforts to eradicate malaria on 15 countries. We are
insisting on measuring. This project is measurable. We can determine
whether or not nets are being distributed or medicine is being provided.
But more importantly, we can measure whether or not we're saving lives.
We look--work toward this historic goal to cut the number of malaria-
related deaths in half. That's what we're headed for, as quickly as
possible.
The malaria initiative is off to a strong start. We have launched
the program in three countries: Uganda, Angola, and Tanzania. I want our
fellow citizens to hear this startling statistic: In a short period of
time, more than 6 million people have benefited. It's in our interests
that the 6 million people we've helped--lives have been improved. In
Uganda, groups funded by our malaria initiative distributed more than
300,000 nets and almost 300,000 doses of medicine to children and
pregnant women. In Angola, the initiative supported a spraying campaign
that protected the homes of more than a half a million people. And in
Tanzania, the initiative paid for local health clinics to distribute
more than 130,000 nets and spray homes for more than a million people.
We're in action. Your taxpayers' money is working to save lives.
The statistics are impressive, and behind them are the stories of
families with renewed hope in the future. Not long ago, the Zanzibar
islands off the coast of Tanzania were a hotbed of malaria infection.
Then, with the support of the malaria initiative, local groups launched
a campaign called ``Kataa Malaria,'' which is Swahili for ``Reject
Malaria.'' Workers went door-to-door to teach people how to use bed
nets, they launched a campaign of TV and radio ads, and they spoke in
mosques about malaria prevention and treatment. Now the people of
Zanzibar are beginning to see results. One island reported that in the
first 9 months of this year, the number of malaria cases dropped almost
90 percent compared to the same time last year. One man said this:
``Personally, the initiative gives me
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a leap of faith. The ultimate outcome is that we should have a malaria-
free Zanzibar. There is no turning back.''
He's right; there's no turning back. We're going to continue to
expand the malaria initiative to reach other countries across Africa as
quickly as possible. Earlier this year, Laura announced that four
nations will join the initiative in '07: Senegal, Malawi, Rwanda, and
Mozambique. Today I am going to announce eight more countries will join
in '08: Ghana, Madagascar, Mali, Zambia, Kenya, Liberia, Ethiopia, and
Benin. President, I can assure the people
that you are determined to beat malaria. And it's that determination by
the leadership of a country that is required for our initiative to be as
successful as quickly as it possibly can. You can count on us as a
steady, reliable partner.
Defeating malaria is going to require a lot more work than just the
action of the U.S. Government. Defeating malaria requires cooperation
between government and grassroots volunteers. I want to thank the
leadership of Malaria No More, which is energizing the grassroots and
raising money and mobilizing thousands of volunteers to fight malaria.
There's a lot of people out of our country who, if called to serve and
to love, will do so. Rick Warren
has got a church called Saddleback Church. He believes like I believe:
To whom much is given, much is required. They're going to send thousands
of volunteers into African villages and clinics. These groups rely upon
the skill of doctors and nurses. And for doctors and nurses who are
serving in Africa to help achieve the goal of eliminating malaria, I
thank you on behalf of a grateful nation.
I am pleased to announce that I am going to expand a Federal program
called Volunteers for Prosperity, which allows organizations that
recruit skilled volunteers to receive Federal grants more easily. I
believe it's in our interests to use taxpayers' money to encourage these
private-sector initiatives. Organizations involved with the malaria
initiative will find it easier to receive Federal funds, I hope. The
point is, we're going to try to eliminate as much bureaucracy as
possible to get money into the hands of those who are recruiting and
encouraging volunteers to be on the frontline of fighting malaria.
I want to thank all the grassroots volunteers who are here. I want
to thank you for doing what you're doing. I hope that you can do more,
and I hope that this summit, which Laura and her
team put together, enables you to go out and recruit, because the
quicker we eliminate malaria, the better off the world will be.
Defeating malaria requires cooperation between Government and the
private sector. When I announced the malaria initiative, I called on
foundations and corporations to participate. In other words, I said,
``You've got to be with us; the Government alone can't solve the
problem. We can address it, we can fund it, but we need your help.'' I
want to thank the Gates Foundation. Melinda, thank you for being here. This foundation is a
fantastic example of social entrepreneurship. It was caused to be
because of fantastic business entrepreneurship. It is now using the
business acumen and the rewards of being smart to fund unbelievable
programs. And I'm proud of what you're doing.
I want to thank the Red Cross. And, Bonnie, thank you very much. You've trained thousands of
health workers in sub-Saharan Africa, and you're going to train more. I
want to thank the Global Business Coalition that thus far has brought
more than 200 companies together to raise money for bed nets and other
supplies. Two hundred is a little short, as far as I'm concerned. In
other words, I view it as a good start, kind of a down payment.
[Laughter]
I want to thank ExxonMobil and Marathon Oil, who funded--which have
funded antimalaria projects in some of Africa's most heavily affected
nations. I think it's in your corporate interests that the people
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of Africa see that you're willing to invest in the future of their
countries. America's businesses and foundations are showing a lot of
wisdom and generosity. I appreciate your support.
Defeating malaria requires cooperation between our country and the
international community. We have given nearly $2 billion to the Global
Fund to Fight AIDS--and I want to thank the leader of the fund, who is here today by the way--Fight AIDS,
Tuberculosis, and Malaria. And nearly a quarter of that money has been
used for antimalaria projects. We support the efforts to fight malaria
being led by the WHO and the new leader, as
well as UNICEF and my friend Ann Veneman, and
the World Bank, where Paul Wolfowitz has
made antimalaria projects a high priority. Some of our allies in Europe
have committed resources to these efforts, and frankly, they should
commit more. This is a global effort to fight malaria. The United States
is proud to take the lead. I encourage other countries--to whom much is
given, much is required--to step up and give. I want to thank those who
understand that malaria is a global problem, and we've got to work to
solve it together.
Defeating malaria requires cooperation between America and African
nations. The malaria initiative is based on partnership, Mr.
President, not paternalism. Leaders like
you know your people, you know their problems, and you are determined to
solve them. Our job is to help you. I fully understand that many times
people have got great ambitions and great intentions, but they have no
money to do--to help. And that's why this Government is committed to
providing money and technology to help the leaders accomplish the
objectives that we've set forth.
African leaders also understand, in the long run, that defeating
malaria requires more than nets and sprays and drugs. It requires
changing the conditions that help malaria thrive: poverty and the lack
of education and unresponsive governments and corruption and the HIV/
AIDS pandemic. To help African leaders overcome these challenges, this
administration has doubled development aid to Africa during my
Presidency, and I propose to double it again by the end of this decade.
We've created the Millennium Challenge Account to support nations
that govern justly. It doesn't make any sense for us to send taxpayers'
monies to countries that steal the money. We give to--and part of the
Millennium Challenge Account, headed by Ambassador
Danilovich, is to encourage countries to
invest in their people and to encourage economic freedom. And so far, we
have signed compacts with five African nations, and we're working on
more.
We launched one of the most important initiatives in American
history, as far as I'm concerned, and that is the Emergency Plan for
AIDS Relief, which thus far has brought lifesaving drugs to more than
800,000 people on the continent of Africa in 5 short years.
Development aid is one thing, but so is the capacity for us to help
nations through trade. I appreciate the work of my predecessor,
President Clinton, and subsequent
Congresses to pass and now extend the African Growth and Opportunity
Act, which has enabled me to report to you that between Africa and
America, trade has doubled since 2001.
In all these ways, we stand with the people of Africa in their time
of need. And by doing so, we help lift a burden of unnecessary
suffering, and we help reduce the appeal of radicalism, and we forge
lasting friendships on a continent that is growing in strategic
importance.
As we come to the end of this historic summit, every citizen can be
proud of the work our Nation is doing to fight disease and despair. Our
development agenda in Africa and beyond is the most ambitious commitment
America has made since the Marshall plan. And once again, our efforts
are showing the world what kind of country America is. We're a nation of
optimistic
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people and generous people and decent people who value human life. We're
a nation that believes that we're fortunate and that through our
fortune, we ought to help others. We're a compassionate people who care
deeply about the future of the world. And it is my honor to lead such a
people.
God bless you all.
Note: The President spoke at 11:55 a.m. at the National Geographic
Society. In his remarks, he referred to President Thomas Yayi Boni of
Benin and his wife, Chantal de Souza Yayi; Gilbert M. Grosvenor,
chairman of the board, National Geographic Society; Richard D. ``Rick''
Warren, pastor, Saddleback Church, Lake Forest, CA; Melinda French
Gates, cochair, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; Bonnie McElveen-Hunter,
chairman, American Red Cross; Richard G.A. Feachem, executive director,
Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria; Margaret Chan,
director-general-elect, World Health Organization; and Ann M. Veneman,
executive director, United Nations Children's Fund.