[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 39, Number 29 (Monday, July 21, 2003)]
[Pages 913-914]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

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The President's Radio Address

July 12, 2003

    Good morning. I've spent this week visiting Africa, a continent of 
great challenge and promise. Throughout this journey and in meetings 
with leaders of more than 10 countries, I have reaffirmed America's 
strong commitment to a more peaceful and prosperous future for all the 
peoples of Africa.
    America supports democratic and economic reforms in Africa because 
we know the power of freedom to lift whole nations and bring new 
opportunities to millions. And in a time of growing commerce across the 
globe, we are working to ensure that the nations of Africa are full 
partners in the trade and prosperity of the world.
    Progress in Africa depends on peace and stability, so America is 
standing with friends and allies to help end regional wars. And against 
the murderous ambitions of terrorists, the United States and African 
countries are working in common purpose. We will not permit terrorists 
to threaten African peoples or to use Africa as a base to threaten the 
world.
    The United States is also committed to helping African peoples 
overcome one of the gravest dangers they have ever faced, the spread of 
HIV/AIDS. And the need is urgent. Across the continent today, nearly 30 
million people are living with HIV/AIDS, including 3 million children 
under the age of 15. In Botswana alone, where I visited on Thursday, 
nearly 40 percent of the adult population has HIV.
    People in Africa are waging a courageous fight against this disease. 
In another nation on my trip, Uganda, urban and rural clinics are 
providing vital medical care, counseling, sound and honest information 
on AIDS prevention. Thanks to caring people and wise government 
policies, Uganda has dramatically reduced its infection rate. More 
Ugandan children are growing up with mothers and fathers, and Uganda is 
reclaiming its future.
    The tremendous progress in Uganda is showing that AIDS can be 
defeated across Africa. Yet current efforts to oppose the disease are 
simply not equal to the need. More than 4 million people require 
immediate drug treatment, but just 1 percent of them are receiving the 
medicine they require. Africa has the will to fight AIDS, but it needs 
the resources as well.
    Over the next 5 years, the United States Congress has authorized $15 
billion to fight AIDS around the world, with a special focus on 14 
nations in Africa and the Caribbean.

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Working with governments and private groups and faith-based 
organizations, we will build on the progress in Uganda by establishing a 
comprehensive system to prevent, diagnose, and treat AIDS.
    We will support abstinence-based education for young people and 
provide comprehensive services to prevent millions of new infections. We 
will provide HIV testing and purchase antiretroviral medications and 
other drugs that are needed to extend lives. We will help establish 
broad and efficient networks to deliver drugs. We will help build, 
renovate, and equip clinics and laboratories. We'll prepare doctors, 
nurses, and other health care professionals to treat AIDS more 
effectively. And the resources America provides will also help to hire 
and train childcare workers to look after orphans and provide care at 
home to many AIDS patients.
    This week, a committee of the House of Representatives took an 
important step to fund the first year of this effort. I ask the Senate 
to move quickly as well. And I urge the entire Congress to fully fund my 
request for the Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief so that America can help 
turn the tide against AIDS in Africa.
    All of our actions in Africa--from fighting AIDS to promoting 
security and prosperity across the continent--represent the ideals that 
have always guided America in the world. The United States is committed 
to the success of Africa, because the peoples of Africa deserve to live 
in freedom and dignity and to share in the progress of our times.
    Thank you for listening.

Note: The address was recorded at approximately 8:15 a.m., local time, 
on July 11 at the Sheraton Pretoria Hotel and Towers in Pretoria, South 
Africa, for broadcast at 10:06 a.m., e.d.t., on July 12. The transcript 
was made available by the Office of the Press Secretary on July 11 but 
was embargoed for release until the broadcast. Due to the 6-hour time 
difference, the radio address was broadcast after completion of all 
other Presidential activities for July 12. The Office of the Press 
Secretary also released a Spanish language transcript of this address.