[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 44, Number 6 (Monday, February 18, 2008)]
[Pages 189-196]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks on African Development and Upcoming Visit to Africa

February 14, 2008

    I've been looking forward to coming to the museum, and there's an 
added benefit, and that is, I get to be introduced by my wife on 
Valentine's Day. [Laughter] Happy Valentine's.
    This morning Laura and I join all Americans in honoring the life of 
Congressman Tom Lantos. In his remarkable 80 years, Tom Lantos survived 
the Nazi camps of Hungary to reach the Halls of Congress. As a 
Representative from California, he was a fearless defender of democracy, 
a powerful advocate of human rights, and a strong supporter of the fight 
against HIV/AIDS. Our prayers are with Annette and the Lantos family. We 
thank God for his service.
    Five years ago, Laura and I made our first visit to Africa. Since 
then, as she mentioned, she's taken three more trips. And every time, 
she came back with fascinating stories, some of which she just shared 
with you. And tomorrow, as she mentioned, we're going back, and I'm 
really looking forward to it.
    We're going to Benin, Tanzania, Rwanda, Ghana, and Liberia. Each of 
these countries is blessed with natural beauty, vibrant culture, and an 
unmistakable spirit of energy

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and optimism. Africa in the 21st century is a continent of potential. 
That's how we view it. I hope that's how our fellow citizens view 
Africa. It's a place where democracy is advancing, where economies are 
growing, and leaders are meeting challenges with purpose and 
determination.
    Our visit will give me a chance to meet with people who are making 
the transformation on the continent possible. I'm going to witness the 
generosity of the American people firsthand. It will give me a chance to 
remind our fellow citizens about what a compassionate people we are. And 
I will assure our partners in Africa that the United States is committed 
to them today, tomorrow, and long into their continent's bright future.
    And so I thank you for giving us a chance to come and visit with 
you. You could call this the sendoff speech.
    I really want to thank Mark Dybul. I love to support people who are 
making history. I can't think of any more noble history than to be 
leading the compassionate effort of the American people to help save 
lives. And, Ambassador, you're doing a fabulous job.
    I also want to welcome Admiral Tim Ziemer. Admiral, good to see you. 
He's in charge of making sure that we meet our goals in reducing the 
scourge of malaria. Thanks for coming. You and Dybul are results-
oriented people. Let me say, I'm a results-oriented President, and so 
when I meet with you, I ask you, what are the results? [Laughter] And 
you'll hear in a minute, they're very positive.
    I appreciate very much Dr. Samper and his wife, Adriana, for 
welcoming us. Thank you for leading this important institute.
    I also want to thank Sharon Patton, the Director of the Smithsonian 
National Museum of African Art. Thanks for welcoming us. It's not so 
easy, like, to welcome the President. [Laughter] It turns out, the 
entourages are probably bigger than the visitors to your museum--
[laughter]--but thank you for coming. This is an important part of the 
Washington scene. I'd urge our fellow citizens to come to this important 
museum. I want to thank the board members of the Smithsonian National 
Museum of Africa Art who have joined us today.
    I welcome Jendayi Frazer, Assistant Secretary of State for African 
Affairs. Are you going on the trip? Yes. Better get home and pack. 
[Laughter] Thanks for coming. I'm proud to work with you.
    Henrietta Fore, Administrator of USAID, is with us. Henrietta, 
thanks for coming.
    I better be careful about how I say this for fear of having a huge 
burst of applause, but I'd like to introduce the Director of the Peace 
Corps--[applause]--Ron Tschetter. Ron, thanks for coming. It's good to 
see you, sir. And I appreciate you bringing the five-person cheering 
section with you. [Laughter] There seems to be a groundswell here. 
[Laughter]
    I welcome the members of the diplomatic corps. Thanks for coming.
    And finally, I do also want to do what Mark did, and thank Chuck 
Dages of Warner Brothers for this trailer. It's good. I appreciate your 
support.
    The museum is a testament to America's long connection to Africa. At 
least that's how I view it. Africa is the birthplace of humanity, the 
home of great civilizations, and the source of enduring achievements in 
culture and art. Africa has also witnessed some of mankind's most 
shameful chapters, from the evils of the slave trade to the 
condescension of colonialism. Even the joy of independence, which 
arrived with such promise, was undermined by corruption, conflict, and 
disease. Just a decade ago, much of Africa seemed to be on the brink of 
collapse, and much of the world seemed content to let it collapse.
    Today, that's changing. A new generation of African leaders is 
stepping forward and turning their continent around. International 
organizations and faith-based groups and the private sector are more 
engaged than ever. And in one of the major priorities of my Presidency, 
the United States has fundamentally altered our policy toward Africa.
    America's approach to Africa stems from both our ideals and our 
interests. We believe that every human life is precious. We believe that 
our brothers and sisters in Africa have dignity and value because they 
bear the mark of our Creator. We believe our spirit is renewed when we 
help African children and families live and thrive.

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    Africa is also increasingly vital to our strategic interests. We 
have seen that conditions on the other side of the world can have a 
direct impact on our own security. We know that if Africa were to 
continue on the old path of decline, it would be more likely to produce 
failed states, foster ideologies of radicalism, and spread violence 
across borders.
    We also know that if Africa grows in freedom and prosperity and 
justice, its people will choose a better course. People who live in 
societies based on freedom and justice are more likely to reject the 
false promise of the extremist ideology. Citizens who see a future of 
opportunity are more likely to build hopeful economies that benefit all 
the people. Nations that replace disease and despair with healing and 
hope will help Africa do more than just survive; it will help Africa 
succeed.
    For all these reasons, America has dramatically increased our 
commitment to development in Africa. We have also revolutionized the way 
we approach development. Too many nations continue to follow either the 
paternalistic notion that treats African countries as charity cases or a 
model of exploitation that seeks only to buy up their resources. America 
rejects both approaches. Instead, we are treating African leaders as 
equal partners, asking them to set clear goals and expecting them to 
produce measurable results. For their part, more African leaders are 
willing to be held to high standards. And together we're pioneering a 
new era in development.
    The new era is rooted in a powerful truth: Africa's most valuable 
resource is not its oil; it's not its diamonds; it is the talent and 
creativity of its people. So we are partnering with African leaders to 
empower their people to lift up their nations and write a new chapter in 
their history.
    First, we are working to empower Africans to overcome poverty by 
helping them grow their economies. After a long period of stagnation, 
many of Africa's economies are springing to life. As a whole, sub-Sahara 
Africa is projected to grow nearly 7 percent this year. The economies of 
Ethiopia, Mozambique, and Tanzania are among the fastest growing in the 
world. And across Africa, poverty is beginning to decline. Don't get me 
wrong; it's still a poor place, but poverty is beginning to decline.
    This resurgence shows the strength of the entrepreneurial spirit in 
Africa. America is working to help unleash that spirit across the 
continent. Along with our fellow G-8 nations, we have relieved some $34 
billion in debt from African nations in the past 18 months. That is 
roughly the same level of debt that was canceled in the previous 11 
years combined. We have also made historic increases in foreign aid. In 
my first term, we more than doubled development assistance to Africa, 
part of the largest expansion of American development assistance since 
the Marshall Plan. At the beginning of my second term, I promised to 
double our assistance again by 2010. And the budget I sent Congress last 
week will ensure that we meet this commitment.
    And just as important, we're changing the way we deliver assistance. 
We created what's called the Millennium Challenge Account, which offers 
financial support to the world's most promising developing nations--
nations that fight corruption, nations that govern justly, nations that 
open up their economies, and nations that invest in the health and 
education of their people.
    America is serving as an investor, not a donor. We believe that 
countries can adopt the habits necessary to provide help for their 
people. That's what we believe. And we're willing to invest in leaders 
that are doing just that. So far, more than two-thirds of the MCA's $5.5 
billion is being invested in Africa. And on my trip next week, I will 
sign the largest project in the program's history, nearly $700 million 
compact with Tanzania.
    Other nations are seeing the benefits of these agreements. They are 
moving ahead with the tough economic, political, and social reforms 
necessary to compete for a compact of their own. In fact, there is now 
more competition for funds than there are funds available, which ought 
to say two things: One, that this is evidence that the American 
taxpayers are getting good value for their dollars. In other words, if 
nations are willing to fight corruption, work on rule of law, support 
their people and not theirselves, then it

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makes sense to invest with them. And secondly, it is evidence that 
Congress needs to fully fund this important initiative.
    The best way to generate economic growth in Africa is to expand 
trade and investment. When businesses in Africa can sell their products 
and services around the globe, they create a culture of self-reliance 
and opportunity. One of the most powerful incentives for trade is the 
African Growth and Opportunity Act. And I appreciate the fact that 
Congress has extended this good law. Since 2001, exports from sub-Sahara 
Africa to the United States have tripled. It's also important for our 
citizens to know that U.S. exports to sub-Sahara Africa have more than 
doubled.
    On my visit to Ghana, I will meet entrepreneurs who are benefiting 
from new access to U.S. markets. My message to them will be clear, just 
like it is to the Congress: For the benefit of Africans and for the 
benefit of Americans alike, we must maintain our commitment to free and 
fair trade.
    Attracting foreign capital is another key to growth. In recent 
years, African nations have taken impressive steps to improve their 
investment climates. According to a World Bank report, 16 countries in 
sub-Sahara Africa recently adopted reforms to make it easier to start a 
business and to register property. That may sound simple to Americans, 
but these are important steps to be able to attract capital for 
investment purposes. When investors look for a promising market, they 
are increasingly turning to Africa. And in a hopeful sign, private 
capital flows to sub-Sahara Africa now exceed development assistance.
    We've taken several steps to build on this progress. Last year, we 
launched the Africa Financial Sector Initiative. As part of this effort, 
our Overseas Private Investment Corporation mobilized $750 million in 
investment capital for African businesses. Today I'm announcing that 
OPIC will support five new investment funds that will mobilize an 
additional $875 million, for a total of more than $1.6 billion in new 
capital.
    And next week, I'm going to sign a bilateral investment treaty with 
Rwanda. This will be America's first such treaty in sub-Sahara Africa in 
nearly a decade. It reflects our shared commitment to systems of fair 
and open investment. It will bring more capital to Rwanda's dynamic and 
growing economy.
    Look, the idea of somehow being able to help people through just 
giving them money isn't working. That's why I appreciate the efforts of 
Rob Mosbacher and OPIC, recognizing that when you invest in capital--
invest capital, you create jobs. Paternalism has got to be a thing of 
the past. Joint venturing with good, capable people is what the future 
is all about.
    But in the long run, the best way to lift lives in Africa is to tear 
down barriers to investment and trade around the world. And we have an 
opportunity to do that through the Doha round of trade talks. Look, Doha 
is important to enhance trade, but if you're truly interested in 
eliminating poverty, we ought to be reducing tariffs and barriers all 
across the globe. The United States stands ready to cut farm subsidies 
and agricultural tariffs and other trade barriers that disadvantage 
developing countries. On the other hand, we expect the rest of the 
world, especially the most advanced developing countries, to do the 
same. And if we both make good-faith efforts, we can reach a successful 
Doha agreement this year.
    Secondly, we're working to empower Africans to alleviate hunger, 
expand education, and fight disease. America is proud to be the world's 
largest provider of food assistance, including emergency food stocks 
that have saved lives in places like Ethiopia or Sudan and other African 
nations. It's a noble effort on our people's part. I don't know if--most 
Americans don't understand that we're the world's largest provider of 
food to feed the hungry, but we are.
    Yet our ultimate objective is to do more than respond to the hungry; 
it is to help African countries feed their own people. So I have 
proposed that America purchase crops directly from farmers in Africa, 
instead of just shipping food assistance from the developed world. This 
initiative would build up local agriculture markets. It would help break 
the cycle of famine. And it deserves the full support of the United 
States Congress.
    We're also focusing on education. I'm looking forward to seeing the 
President of Tanzania; he's a good guy. Here's what he said: He said, 
``It's an indisputable fact that

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education is key to development.'' Across Africa, students are eager to 
learn, and often they lack quality teachers and just basic supplies. 
Things we take for granted in America are just lacking in parts of 
Africa. So in 2002, I launched the Africa Education Initiative, the goal 
of which is to distribute more than 15 million textbooks, train nearly a 
million teachers, and provide scholarships for 550,000 girls by 2010. 
And we're headed to achieving that goal. In other words, these just 
weren't empty words; these were concrete, solid goals being funded as a 
result of the generosity of the Congress and the American people.
    Last year, I also announced a new International Education 
Initiative, which will help make basic education available to 4 million 
people in Ghana, Liberia, and other nations. Laura and I are looking 
forward to talking to the leaders of Ghana and Liberia about this 
important, transformative initiative.
    With both these steps, we are matching the enthusiasm of African 
educators with the generosity of our taxpayers, and we believe strongly 
that this will open up the door to opportunity for millions. The good 
news is, so do the leaders of the countries we're going to visit.
    The greatest threat to Africa is disease. The greatest threat for a 
successful Africa is the scourge of HIV/AIDS and malaria. Two out of 
every three people afflicted with HIV/AIDS live in sub-Sahara Africa. 
The disease is the leading cause of death in the region. Just a few 
years ago, there were fears that HIV/AIDS could wipe out much of the 
continent's population, with death rates that would rival the Black 
Plague of the Middle Ages.
    We responded. We responded with the Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief. 
It's the largest international health initiative in history to fight a 
single disease. In 2002, we pledged $15 billion over 5 years to support 
HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment, and care. We set some clear principles 
on how that money would be spent. We put local partners in the lead 
because they know their people and their needs. We opened the funding to 
faith-based groups, healers willing to deliver medicine to remote 
villages by bicycle or on foot. We stressed the importance of changing 
behavior so that fewer people are infected in the first place.
    And the results are striking. When I visited sub-Sahara Africa 5 
years ago--or when we visited 5 years ago, 50,000 people were receiving 
medicine to treat HIV/AIDS. And when we return this week, there will be 
more than 1.3 million.
    One person who knows the benefits of the emergency plan is Tatu 
Msangi. She's a single mother from Tanzania. When she became pregnant, 
Tatu went to a clinic run by a Christian group, souls showing up to love 
a neighbor just like they'd like to be loved themselves. You know, it 
didn't take a Federal law to say, go to Africa to provide love for Tatu; 
it took a higher calling. These goals responded.
    She learned she was HIV-positive and enrolled in a program designed 
to prevent mother-to-child transmission. She went on to deliver a 
healthy, HIV-free girl named Faith. I will see Tatu next week in 
Tanzania, but it's not going to be the first time I met her. See, a few 
weeks ago, she and Faith endured a rather windy State of the Union 
Address. She sat with Laura in the box, here in the Capital of the 
Nation that helped save their lives.
    In all, the Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief has benefited tens of 
millions in Africa. Some call this a remarkable success. I call it a 
good start. Last May, I proposed to double our Nation's initial pledge 
to $30 billion over the next 5 years. The people on the continent of 
Africa have to know they're not alone. The G-8 has shown leadership by 
agreeing to match our $30 billion pledge. The private sector has made 
generous contributions as well. Think of what Warner Brothers has done, 
for example. And now the time has come for Congress to act. Members of 
both parties should reauthorize the emergency plan, maintain the 
principles that have made it a success, and double our commitment to 
this noble cause.
    Malaria is another devastating killer. In some African countries, 
malaria takes as many lives as HIV/AIDS. And the vast majority of those 
taken by malaria are children under the age of 5. Every one of these 
deaths is unnecessary because the disease is entirely

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preventable and treatable. So in 2005, America launched a 5-year, $1.2 
billion initiative to provide the insecticide-treated beds, indoor 
spraying, cutting-edge drugs that are necessary to defeat this disease. 
It's not a complicated strategy. It doesn't take a lot of medical 
research. We know how to solve the problem. That's why I put the admiral 
there. He knows how to solve problems. He can get us from point A to 
point B in a straight line--well, nearly straight line. [Laughter] And 
so we set a historic goal--if you have a treatable problem on hand, then 
you're able to set measurable goals--and the goal is to cut the number 
of malaria-related deaths in 15 African nations by half. That's the 
goal.
    Like the Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, the malaria initiative 
empowers leaders on the ground to design strategies that work best for 
their nations. For example, President Yayi of Benin has called the fight 
against malaria ``a fight against misery.'' With the help of the malaria 
initiative, he's leading a campaign to deliver insecticide-treated bed 
nets to children under 5 in Benin. I'm looking forward to hearing how 
that's going when we meet him on Benin on our first stop. I can't wait 
to find out how well this initiative is doing.
    Like the emergency plan, the malaria initiative has been matched by 
G-8 nations, which have pledged to cut malaria deaths by half in an 
additional 15 countries. This initiative has also been greeted with 
generous support from the private sector, faith-based groups, and 
Americans who want to do something to save somebody's life. You can buy 
a $10 bed net and ship it to Africa to save a life. It doesn't take much 
money, but it takes a big heart. One of the interesting gifts Laura and 
I got a couple of years ago for Christmas was bed nets in our name. It 
made us feel great.
    Like the emergency plan, the malaria initiative is producing 
undeniable results. In just over 2 years, the initiative has reached 
more than 25 million people. According to new data, malaria rates are 
dropping dramatically in many parts of Africa. If we stay on this path, 
an extraordinary achievement is within reach: Africa can turn a disease 
that has taken its children for centuries into a thing of the past. And 
wouldn't that be fantastic? And so Laura and I are going to spend time 
with these leaders, saying, what a noble opportunity; what a great goal; 
what a great way to serve humankind.
    Finally, we're working to empower Africans to end conflicts, 
strengthen democracy, and promote peace. When I took office, Africa was 
home to six major conflicts, in Angola, Burundi, Congo, Liberia, Sierra 
Leone, and southern Sudan. We concluded that the best way to broker 
peace was to support the efforts of African leaders on the ground, 
instead of dictating solutions from Washington, DC. And today, every one 
of them has made progress toward peace and stability.
    For example, the United States worked closely with Nigeria to help 
end the Liberian civil war. When the international community called for 
Charles Taylor to step down in 2003, the President of Nigeria provided a 
plane to take him in exile. When U.S. marines deployed to Liberia, 
Nigerian peacekeepers deployed at the same time. And today, Liberia's 
long war is over. And next week in Monrovia, Laura and I will meet with 
Africa's first democratically elected woman President, Ellen Johnson 
Sirleaf.
    Even without major conflict or civil war, security challenges remain 
in Africa, and we're working closely with local partners to address 
them. The Department of Defense has established a new African Command, 
which will work closely with African governments to crack down on human 
trafficking, piracy, and terrorism across the continent. We are 
employing diplomatic tools as well.
    In eastern Congo, we worked with leaders on the ground to broker the 
recent agreements to demobilize all remaining armed groups. And we stand 
ready to help all sides to implement them.
    In Kenya, we are backing the efforts of former U.N. Secretary-
General Kofi Annan to end the crisis. And when we're on the continent, 
I've asked Condi Rice--that would be Secretary Rice--to travel to Kenya 
to support the work of the former Secretary-General and to deliver a 
message directly to Kenya's leaders and people: There must be an 
immediate halt to violence; there must be justice for the victims of 
abuse; and there must be a full return to democracy.

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    In Darfur, the United States will continue to call the killing what 
it is, genocide. We will continue to deliver humanitarian aid. We will 
continue to enforce sanctions, tough sanctions, against the Sudanese 
Government officials, rebel leaders, and others responsible for 
violence. We expect other nations to join us in this effort to save 
lives from the genocide that is taking place. We will use all our 
diplomatic resources to urge full deployment of an effective United 
Nations force. The decision was made to count on the United Nations to 
provide the force necessary to protect people, and so we're going to 
support their efforts. I must confess, I'm a little frustrated by how 
slow things are moving. And yet we will support their efforts to find 
forces necessary to make a robust contribution to save lives.
    On this trip, I'm going to visit with brave peacekeepers from 
Rwanda, a nation that knows the pain of genocide and was the first 
country to send troops into Darfur. Other nations need to follow 
Rwanda's example. Other nations need to take this issue seriously, just 
like the United States does, and provide more manpower for this urgent 
mission. And when they do, I pledge America will provide the training 
and equipment necessary to deploy the peacekeepers to Darfur.
    America also stands with all in Africa who live in the quiet pain of 
tyranny. We will confront tyranny. In Zimbabwe, a discredited dictator 
presides over food shortages, staggering inflation, and harsh 
repression. The decent and talented people of that country deserve much 
better. America will continue to support freedom in Zimbabwe. And I urge 
neighbors in the region, including South Africa, to do the same. We look 
forward to the hour when this nightmare is over and the people of 
Zimbabwe regain their freedom.
    These are great challenges, but there is even greater cause for 
hope. In the past 4 years alone, there have been more than 50 democratic 
elections in Africa. Thriving free societies have emerged in nations 
with Islamic majorities, Christian majorities, majorities of other 
beliefs, which is a powerful rebuke to the ideology of the extremists. 
In many nations, women have exercised the right to vote and run for 
office. Rwanda now has the highest percentage of female legislators in 
the world. Overall, more than two-thirds of the nations of sub-Saharan 
Africa are free. And for the rest, the direction of history is clear, so 
long as the United States does not lose its nerve and retreat into 
isolationism and protectionism. The day will come when a region once 
dismissed as the ``Dark Continent'' enjoys the light of liberty.
    The United States must remain fully committed to the new era of 
development that we have begun with our partners in Africa. It's in our 
national interest we do so. I'm going to work closely with the G-8 
nations to ensure they keep their promises as well. Congress must 
continue to show its commitment by fully funding the development 
programs I described today. You see, saving lives is a calling that 
crosses partisan lines. It remains equally worthy in both good economic 
times and times of economic uncertainty.
    Across Africa, people have begun to speak of the ``Lazarus effect,'' 
where communities once given up for dead are coming back to life. This 
work of healing and redemption is both a matter of conscience and a wise 
exercise of American influence. The work is not done. In the face of the 
needs that remain, it's important for the African people to believe the 
American people are not going to turn away. That's part of the purpose 
of our trip. The changes taking place in Africa don't always make the 
headlines. So don't be frustrated, Mark. That means the work is quiet, 
but it is not thankless.
    Last November, I met a woman from Zambia named Bridget Chisenga. 
Bridget's husband died of AIDS, and she expected to meet the same fate. 
Then she went to a clinic operated by Catholic Relief Services, funded 
by the American people. Today, Bridget is healthy. She has a job at the 
clinic, where she helps provide AIDS medicine to others. I want our 
fellow citizens to hear what she said: ``This face is alive and vibrant 
because of your initiative. I would like to thank you.''
    Americans have heard similar words of gratitude and hope in the 
past. They were said about the people who liberated the concentration 
camps and saved the blockaded city of Berlin and stood firm until the 
prisoners in the gulags were set free. This spirit of purpose and 
compassion has always defined America. And that is why the people

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of Africa can be certain they will always have a friend and partner in 
the United States of America.
    God bless.

Note: The President spoke at 10:13 a.m. at the National Museum of 
African Art. In his remarks, he referred to Rear Adm. Tim Ziemer, USN, 
(Ret.), U.S. Malaria Coordinator; Cristian Samper, Acting Secretary, 
Smithsonian Institution; Chuck Dages, executive vice president, emerging 
technology, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group; President Jakaya 
Mrisho Kikwete of Tanzania; former President Charles Taylor and 
President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia; former President Olusegun 
Obasanjo of Nigeria; and President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe. The 
transcript released by the Office of the Press Secretary also included 
the remarks of the First Lady.