President Bush to Highlight His Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief in 2008 State of the Union; Also Announces the Dates and Countries of His Trip to Africa

January 28, 2008 – President Bush has said he will highlight his Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief in his State of the Union address this evening.  He also announced he will be traveling to Rwanda, Tanzania, Ghana, Liberia and Benin from February 15 to 21, 2008.

In his speech to the nation this evening, President Bush will repeat his proposal that the U.S. Congress double the funding to combat HIV/AIDS overseas.

The five-year, $30 billion proposal would provide treatment for about 2.5 million people infected with the disease, and preventive measures for about 12 million others.  The Emergency Plan, approved by Congress in 2003 at $15 billion, operates around the world, but concentrates in 15 of the hardest-hit countries in sub-Saharan Africa, Asia and the Caribbean.

Our compassion should be manifested in helping people who suffer from disease and hunger," President Bush said Thursday in an interview with USA Today.  "We have a strategy that's working.  It is to support a strategy that has made a difference in over a million people's lives in a relatively quick period of time," he added.

Next month the President will have a chance to showcase that success when he travels to five African democracies, including Rwanda and Tanzania, which are two of the Emergency Plan's focus countries.

Last revised: January 28, 2008