    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2008, Book II)]
    [July 26, 2008]
    [Pages 1053-1055]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    The President's Radio Address
    July 26, 2008

        Good morning. This week, Congress voted to expand a vital program
    that is saving lives across the developing world, the Emergency Plan for
    AIDS Relief, also known as PEPFAR. I thank Members of Congress from both
    sides of the aisle for working with my administration to pass this
    important bill, and I will be honored to sign it into law next week.
        PEPFAR is the largest international health initiative dedicated to
    fighting a single disease in history, and it is a testament to the
    extraordinary compassion and generosity of the American people. When we
    first launched this program 5\1/2\ years ago, the scourge of HIV/AIDS
    had cast a shadow over the continent of Africa. Only 50,000 people with
    AIDS in sub-Sahara Africa were receiving antiretroviral treatment.
    Today, PEPFAR is supporting treatment for nearly 1.7 million people in
    the region.

    [[Page 1054]]

    PEPFAR has allowed nearly 200,000 African babies to be born HIV-free,
    and this program is bringing hope to a continent in desperate need.
        The new legislation that I will sign next week will build on this
    progress. We will expand access to lifesaving antiretroviral drugs. We
    will help prevent millions of new HIV infections from occurring. And we
    will also bolster our efforts to help developing nations combat other
    devastating diseases like malaria and tuberculosis.
        Fighting disease is one part of America's larger commitment to help
    struggling nations build more hopeful futures of freedom. Over the past
    7 years, we've learned how advancing the cause of freedom requires
    combating hopelessness. This is because the only way that the enemies of
    freedom can attract new recruits to their dark ideology is to exploit
    distress and despair. So as we help struggling nations achieve freedom
    from disease through programs like PEPFAR, we must also help them
    achieve freedom from corruption, freedom from poverty, freedom from
    hunger, and freedom from tyranny. And that is exactly what we're doing.
        America is using our foreign assistance to promote democracy and
    good government. We have more than doubled the Federal budget for
    democracy and governance and human rights programs. And through the
    Millennium Challenge Account, we have transformed the way we deliver
    aid, so we can support developing nations that make important political
    and economic reforms.
        America is promoting free trade and open investment. Over the long
    term, we know that trade and investment are the best ways to fight
    poverty and build strong and prosperous societies. So we have expanded
    the African Growth and Opportunity Act to increase trade between America
    and Africa. We have put 11 new free trade agreements into effect since
    2001. And we're striving to make this the year that the world completes
    an ambitious Doha round agreement, so we can tear down barriers to trade
    and investment around the world.
        America is leading the fight against global hunger. This year, the
    United States has provided more than $1.8 billion in new funds to
    bolster global food security. We are the world's largest provider of
    food aid, and we have proposed legislation that would transform the way
    we deliver this aid to promote greater self-reliance in developing
    nations.
        America is leading the cause of human rights. Over the past 7 years,
    we've spoken out against human rights abuses by tyrannical regimes like
    those in Iran and Syria, Cuba, Sudan, and Zimbabwe. We've spoken
    candidly about human rights with nations with whom America has good
    relations, such as Egypt and Saudi Arabia and China. And to ensure that
    our Nation continues to speak out for those who have no other voice, I
    recently issued a directive instructing all senior U.S. officials
    serving in undemocratic countries to maintain regular contact with
    political dissidents and democracy activists.
        With all these steps, we're helping defeat the forces of violent
    extremism by offering a more hopeful vision of freedom. And as this
    vision takes hold in more nations around the world, America will be
    safer here at home.
        Thank you for listening.

    Note: The address was recorded at 7:50 a.m. on July 25 in the Cabinet
    Room at the White House for broadcast at 10:06 a.m. on July 26. The
    transcript was made available by the Office of the Press Secretary on
    July 25, but was embargoed for release until the broadcast. The Office
    of the Press Secretary also released a Spanish language transcript of
    this address.

    [[Page 1055]]