[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 39, Number 22 (Monday, June 2, 2003)]
[Pages 663-666]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
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 is 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, is the U.S. Surgeon General, for joining 
us. Thank you for being here, Rich.

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    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 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, 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 Senator 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.

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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.
    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.
    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

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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.