For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
February 13, 2008
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Press Briefing by National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley on the President's Trip to Africa [/FONT]
James S. Brady Press Briefing Room
Press Briefings
12:37 P.M. EST
MR. HADLEY: Good afternoon. On Friday, the President and Mrs. Bush will travel to Africa. It will be his second visit to the continent since 2001, and Mrs. Bush's fifth visit. They will travel to Benin, Tanzania, Rwanda, Ghana and Liberia. The trip will be an opportunity to demonstrate America's commitment to the people of these countries and to Africa as a whole. The trip will highlight how the United States has partnered closely with the people of Africa to address the challenges of disease, poverty and security; and how, together, we've really made remarkable progress. There's more hope in Africa and the American people can be proud that many of our innovative programs are making a real difference.
The President will stress the importance of supporting his commitment to combating HIV/AIDS, malaria and other infectious diseases. The United States is the largest contributor to the Global Fund for HIV/AIDS, Malaria and Tuberculosis, pledging more than $3.5 billion and providing over $2.5 billion since 2001.
On May 30, 2007, President Bush announced that he will work with Congress to double America's initial commitment and provide an additional $30 billion to the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief for the following five years. The President is committed to working with Congress to pass reauthorizing legislation consistent with this program's successful founding principles.
The trip will demonstrate the President's strong commitment to growth and development on the African continent, a commitment shared throughout his administration. The President has partnered with African leaders to increase development assistance, support greater prosperity through increased trade and investment, and work closely with international organizations to increase international involvement, both public and private, in African development.
The trip will also be an opportunity to reaffirm the enduring commitment of the United States to bringing peace and stability to the region. President Bush's partnership with allies, regional leaders and subregional organizations has helped wind down wars in Liberia, Sierra Leone, the North-South conflict in Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Angola and Burundi. The United States is also leading international efforts to help stop the genocide in Darfur.
The United States has trained over 44,000 African peacekeepers from 19 countries. The United States has trained over 80 percent of African peacekeepers that are currently deployed in African Union and United Nations peacekeeping missions, both inside and outside of Africa.
Let me go through the schedule, if I may.
On Saturday, February 16, the President and Mrs. Bush arrive in Benin and meet with President Yayi. In October 2007, with support from the Presidential Malaria Initiative, the government of Benin launched one of the largest anti-malaria campaigns, designed to reach all children under the age of five. They will discuss this project, this initiative, and the progress that it is making on the ground in Benin. The visit will also be an opportunity to discuss the Millennium Challenge Account, and the African Education Initiative, and the role these two initiatives are playing in Benin.
The President and Mrs. Bush will then travel to Tanzania and remain overnight in Dar es Salaam.
On Sunday, February 17, President Bush will meet with President Kikwete, and sign a Millennium Challenge Corporation Compact with Tanzania. President Bush launched the Millennium Challenge Account initiative as a new model of development, to support governments that commit to rule justly, invest in people and encourage economic freedom. Tanzania's compact is the largest in the Millennium Challenge Corporation's history, and it will impact nearly 5 million people. The President will also participate in a roundtable on the PEPFAR program to combat HIV/AIDS in Tanzania.
On Monday, February 18, the President and Mrs. Bush will travel to Arusha, Tanzania and tour several facilities, including a textile mill that produces insecticide-treated bed nets for the prevention of malaria, and a school and a local hospital. As a focus country for the President's Malaria Initiative, Tanzania has seen the number of malaria cases among children on the island of Zanzibar drop by 95 percent between 2005 and 2007.
To date, the Presidential Malaria Initiative has provided spraying operations that have protected nearly 170,000 residents, procured and dispersed nearly 700,000 treatments of combination therapies, and provided roughly 1.9 million bed nets for targeting particularly infants and pregnant women.
On Tuesday, February 19, the President and Mrs. Bush will travel to Rwanda, where they will pay their respects at the Kigali Memorial Center for the 1994 genocide. The President will meet with President Kagame and see U.S.-trained Rwandan troops. Rwanda was the first country to deploy peacekeepers to Darfur as part of the African Union mission in August 2004. The United States has provided nearly 7,000 Rwandan troops with training, and spent more than $17 million to equip and transport Rwandan troops for service in Sudan.
Rwanda continues to be a strong regional voice for greater and stronger international involvement in ending the genocide in Darfur. The President and Mrs. Bush will also participate in the dedication of the new U.S. Embassy before traveling to Ghana, where they will remain overnight in Accra.
On Wednesday, February 20, President Bush will meet with President Kufuor of Ghana. The President will also visit with Peace Corps volunteers and Ghanaian entrepreneurs who have benefited from U.S. assistance and are taking advantage of the African Growth and Opportunity Act.
Ghana is a target country for the President's International Education Initiative. Through the African Education Initiative, more than 20,000 previously untrained teachers are receiving training. On Thursday, February 21, President and Mrs. Bush will travel to Liberia. The President will meet with President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf. He will also make remarks after visiting Liberian troops. Liberia is an emerging democracy in West Africa. The Liberian government has taken significant steps to correct past human rights deficiencies, including working to reform the justice sector, combating corruption, and promoting good governance and establishing a Truth and Reconciliation Commission to investigate and document human rights violations and war crimes committed during Liberia's civil war
