[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 43, Number 17 (Monday, April 30, 2007)]
[Pages 523-526]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks on the Observance of Malaria Awareness Day

April 25, 2007

    Thank you for coming. Welcome to the White House. The Rose Garden 
has witnessed many historic events. This afternoon we gather to mark 
something completely new, the first ever Malaria Awareness Day in the 
United States, and I'm glad you're here to join us.
    On Malaria Awareness Day, we focus our attention on all who suffer 
from this terrible disease, especially the millions on the continent of 
Africa. We remember the millions more who've died from this entirely 
preventable and treatable disease. As a compassionate nation, we are 
called to spread awareness about malaria, and we're called to act. 
That's what compassionate people do--when they see a problem, they act. 
And that's what we're here to talk about. On this special day, we renew 
our commitment to lead the world toward an urgent goal, and that is to 
turn the tide against malaria in Africa and around the globe.
    I want to thank Laura for being my wife--[laughter]--and taking the 
lead on this. Mr. Secretary, thank you for joining us--Mike Leavitt, the 
Department of Health and Human Services. Ambassador Randy Tobias--he now 
runs USAID. Prior to this job, he led America's monumental effort to 
confront and deal with the HIV/AIDS epidemic on the continent of Africa. 
Thank you for your leadership. Karen P., it's good to see you; 
Ambassador Hughes is with us.
    Admiral Ziemer--so if you want to solve a problem, you put a 
problem-solver in charge. And that's what Admiral Ziemer does; he's a 
problem-solver. It makes it easier for me, when I say to other nations--
like with President Lula. He came to visit at Camp David. We were trying 
to figure out ways we can work together to show our hemisphere and the 
world that Brazil and the United States shares a compassion about 
people. And so I said, why don't we work together to eradicate malaria 
in parts of Africa? Call Ziemer--[laughter]--he'll see to it that the 
strategy gets implemented. To show that we're a serious nation, we have 
named a coordinator, somebody in charge. It's important for me and Laura 
to know that a good man is handling this responsibility to implementing 
a strategy. So, appreciate what you're doing. I know you know that we 
take this initiative seriously.
    Mr. Chairman, Donald Payne, thank you for coming. We're proud you're 
here. We--I respect you, and I respect your concern for the people of 
Africa, and to make sure that the United States of America stays engaged 
in that continent in a constructive way. It's good to see Chris Smith. 
Thank you for coming, Chris. We're proud you're here.
    I appreciate very much the fact that the World Bank is taking the 
lead in eradicating poverty in places like Africa, and Paul Wolfowitz, 
thank you for your leadership of the World Bank. And I appreciate the 
fact that Ann Veneman is joining us, the Executive Director of UNICEF, 
which is the largest purchaser of bed nets in the world. These

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people are here because they're committed to joining us to solve a 
problem that can be solved.
    I also thank other members of my administration here. Thank you for 
coming, and thank you for your interest. I want to thank the members of 
the diplomatic corps for joining us. I appreciate you coming. I see 
ambassadors from countries that will be helped by this initiative, and I 
see ambassadors from countries that we expect to join us in this 
initiative.
    I'm looking forward to--Mr. Ambassador, to talking to Prime Minister 
Abe about what Japan can do with the United States to solve this 
problem. I'm honored you're here. I'm looking forward to seeing the 
Prime Minister tomorrow evening for dinner. I thank our dance company 
that will be joining us in a minute. I know you're going to look forward 
to seeing them; so am I. So I'm warming up out here. [Laughter] I thank 
our domestic and international partners. I see so many people who are--
who care about the lives of others and are willing to do something about 
it. And I really appreciate you all coming.
    As we mark the first Malaria Awareness Day, it makes sense to begin 
with some facts. Every year, more than a million people die of malaria, 
and the vast majority of them are children under 5 years old. It's a sad 
statistic. In some countries, malaria takes even more lives than HIV/
AIDS. Malaria imposes a crippling economic burden in sub-Sahara Africa, 
where so many are struggling to lift their families out of poverty.
    All of that may seem like a cause for despair, but it's not. The 
world knows exactly what it takes to treat and prevent malaria. We've 
seen this disease defeated before, right here in Washington.
    I'm sure a lot of our citizens don't remember this fact, but about a 
century ago, malaria was a serious problem. The hot and humid summers 
created a dangerous breeding ground for mosquitoes, and Congress would 
often flee the capital for months at a time. Other than that, the 
consequences were all negative. [Laughter] Some foreign ambassadors to 
the United States are even reported to have received hardship pay for 
duties here in Washington. Yet, through the years, because of patient 
and persistent action, malaria was almost entirely eradicated in 
Washington and throughout the United States.
    In other words, we've solved this problem before. And the 
fundamental question is, do we have the will to do the same thing on 
another continent? That's really what--the question that faces this 
country and other nations around the world. My commitment is, you bet we 
have the will. And we've got a strategy to do so.
    Defeating malaria is going to be a challenge, but it's not going to 
require a miracle. That's what I'm here to tell you. It's going to 
require a smart and sustained campaign.
    And so what does that mean? Well, first, it means distributing 
insecticide-treated bed nets; secondly, expanding indoor insecticide 
spraying; thirdly, providing antimalaria medicine to pregnant women; and 
delivering cutting-edge drugs to people living with the disease. Those 
are the four steps necessary to achieve our objective.
    Thanks to our leadership in science and technology, we have a unique 
ability to help in all these areas. We have a responsibility to turn 
that ability into action. When America sees suffering and know that our 
Nation--when Americans see suffering and know that our Nation can help 
stop it, they expect our Government to respond. Most Americans believe 
in this timeless truth: To whom much is given, much is required. And I 
believe in that as well.
    We have a strategic interest in reducing death and disease in 
emerging nations of Africa. Societies with healthy and prosperous people 
are more likely to be sources of stability and peace, not breeding 
grounds for extremists and terror. It's in our strategic interests that 
we follow through on our pledges.
    I launched the President's Malaria Initiative in 2005. Through this 
initiative, as Laura mentioned, we're spending $1.2 billion over 5 years 
to provide bed nets and indoor spraying and antimalaria medicine in 15 
heavily affected African countries. We're working toward an historic 
goal to cut the number of malaria-related deaths in country by half. The 
Admiral has got a goal. It's a measurable goal.

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    The key element to this initiative is accountability. I mean, it's a 
realistic agenda with a measurable goal. And today is a good day to 
report to the American people on the impact their dollars are having. 
During the first year of our initiative, we expanded malaria protection 
to more than 6 million Africans. We're still early in the second year, 
but so far, we've reached another 5 million people, and by the end of 
2007, we expect to reach a total of 30 million. Admiral, you're doing 
good work, and the American people deserve a lot of credit for 
supporting you.
    A good effort of our--of this strategy comes from the Zanzibar 
islands off the east coast of Tanzania. This area was once a hotbed for 
malaria infection. Then, with the support of our malaria initiative, 
local residents launched a campaign called ``Kataa Malaria,'' which is 
Swahili for ``Reject Malaria.'' Workers went door to door to teach 
people how to use beds, they--how to use bed nets. They launched TV and 
radio ads. They spoke in mosques about malaria prevention and treatment. 
And the efforts worked. One Zanzibar island reported that malaria cases 
during the first 9 months of last year dropped by a stunning 87 percent.
    Another example comes from Senegal on the west coast of Africa. In 
one village, malaria kills half of all the children before their age of 
5. Imagine growing up in a village like that; imagine being a mom in a 
village like that.
    Not long ago, it looked like a 2-year-old fellow named Demba Balde 
was going to be one of the unlucky children. His mother took him to the 
village health hut, which receives funding from our malaria initiative. 
And thanks to enhanced awareness, correct diagnosis, and prompt 
treatment, young Demba won his battle with malaria.
    Every life matters to the American people. Every life is precious. 
Stories like these are cause for hope, and they would not be possible 
without the courage and commitment of our partners in Africa. This week, 
nations across Africa are marking their own Malaria Awareness Days.
    In Angola, the Ministry of Health is helping to lead a ``Caravan for 
Life,'' in which health workers travel the countryside in trucks loaded 
with bed nets and medicines and educational materials.
    In Benin, almost a million dollars worth of bed nets and medicines 
is being distributed at an event in the capital city.
    In Mozambique, local residents attended a soccer tournament that 
featured songs and skits on how to prevent malaria.
    We're committed to helping our African partners build on these 
efforts, and so I want to share with you two new endeavors. First, 
America will expand our cooperation with the Government of Uganda and 
the nonprofit group Malaria No More to distribute more than a half a 
million bed nets in Uganda. We're going to focus this distribution on 
children and pregnant mothers in areas of the country with the greatest 
vulnerability. And when we're finished with this effort, half of all the 
households in Uganda will own a bed net to protect against malaria.
    The second new commitment is Madagascar. There, we will team up with 
Malaria No More and the American Red Cross to distribute bed nets to 
nearly 1.4 million children under the age of 5. This delivery campaign 
will include polio vaccines to promote good overall health for children 
across the island. We're attacking this problem one spot at a time with 
a comprehensive strategy.
    These efforts are a good start, but on this Malaria Awareness Day, 
we've got to understand, it's just a start, and there's a lot of work to 
be done. Nations around this world have a role to play. At the G-8, I'm 
going to raise this issue with our partners around the table. I'm going 
to remind them, to whom much is given, much is required, and that the 
United States will lead, but we expect others to follow, side by side.
    Private citizens and organizations have an important role to play. 
Last December, as Laura mentioned, we held the White House Summit on 
Malaria to urge more nonprofit groups and corporations and individuals 
to join the effort to wipe out this disease. The response has been 
encouraging. We're seeing inspiring acts of selflessness from what I've 
called America's armies of compassion.
    There's an interesting development taking place tonight. If you 
happen to tune into ``American Idol,'' you will see the first ever 
``Idol Gives Back'' campaign. This campaign

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will urge viewers to donate to a variety of charities, including groups 
devoted to fighting malaria. For all you ``Idol'' viewers, join this 
battle, join the cause to help save lives. I'm not so sure I'm going to 
watch it tonight, but this show does have a large group of viewers, and 
I really appreciate the producers for joining us.
    Major League Soccer is running a promotional campaign that 
encourages fans to make a donation to cover the cost of bed nets for a 
family in Africa. College students on more than 50 campuses are holding 
``Music to End Malaria'' events to generate awareness and raise funds. 
The Magnum Photos agency has launched a photo narrative that depicts the 
devastating toll of malaria. Awareness is a part of solving the problem.
    You don't have to be a part of an organization to make a difference. 
In an elementary school in Parkersburg, West Virginia, 63 children 
raised enough money to buy 15 bed nets. This past Christmas, our 
family--some of our family gathered in Camp David, and my brother gave 
us bed nets as a Christmas gift. You can do the same thing here in 
America. You can make an individual contribution to save somebody's 
life.
    I want to tell you what this third grader explained, why he 
contributed to the program. He said, ``I want to fight malaria because 
it's helpful, and I want to help kids in Africa because it's the right 
thing to do.'' And it is the right thing to do. And that's why we're 
gathered here in the Rose Garden, to commit this Nation to doing the 
right thing and to call upon citizens in this country to do the right 
thing.
    America is a country that gives medicine to the sick and food to the 
hungry and protection to the threatened because it's the right thing to 
do. The Malaria Awareness Day is a chance for me to thank all Americans 
who have donated to this cause and urge others to do the same. It's a 
day to call on nations around the world to join us in a great 
humanitarian effort. And it's a day to remind our fellow citizens that 
when you help somebody live a life, it strengthens our soul and enhances 
our spirit.
    Thanks for coming, and God bless.

Note: The President spoke at 1:10 p.m. in the Rose Garden at the White 
House. In his remarks, he referred to R. Timothy Ziemer, Coordinator, 
President's Malaria Initiative; President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva of 
Brazil; Representatives Donald M. Payne and Christopher H. Smith of New 
Jersey; Japan's Ambassador to the U.S. Ryozo Kato; and Prime Minister 
Shinzo Abe of Japan. The transcript released by the Office of the Press 
Secretary also included the remarks of the First Lady, who introduced 
the President.