Bush Seeks to Double U.S. Money in AIDS Fight

May 31, 07:39 AM

Current Headlines: The Associated Press

WASHINGTON - President Bush urged Congress on Wednesday to authorize an additional $30 billion to fight AIDS in Africa over five years, doubling the current U.S. commitment.

The money would provide treatment for 2.5 million people under the President's Emergency Program for AIDS Relief , Bush said.

Through March 31, the program has supported treatment for 1.1 million people in 15 countries, including more than 1 million in Africa, he said. The program's original five-year mandate, which called for spending $15 billion, expires in September 2008 and Bush asked Congress to renew it.

"When I took office, an HIV diagnosis in Africa's poorest communities was usually a death sentence. Parents watched their babies die needlessly because local clinics lacked effective treatments," the president said. "Once again, the generosity of the American people is one of the great untold stories of our time."

White House spokesman Tony Snow said the specific goals for the next five years - after Bush leaves office - call for treatment of 2.5 million people, prevention of more than 12 million new infections and the care of more than 12 million people, including 5 million orphans and children.

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