George W. Bush photo

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. 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.

George W. Bush, The President's Radio Address Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/216173

Filed Under

Categories

Location

South Africa

Simple Search of Our Archives