For Immediate Release
February 24, 2004

Global Message

President Bush's comprehensive global AIDS relief strategy was submitted to Congress on Monday, 2/23/04

"Human dignity has been a part of our history for a long time. We fed the hungry after World War I. This country carried out the Marshall Plan and the Berlin airlift ... It's nothing new for our country. But there's a pandemic which we must address now, before it's too late." --President Bush, 1/31/03

Worldwide, more than 40 million people are now infected with HIV/AIDS and each day, 14,000 more are added to the ranks.

President Bush is committed to providing $15 billion over five years to fund the Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief.

We will work with leaders worldwide to promote integrated prevention and treatment with an urgent focus on the most afflicted countries.

The plan will focus Botswana, Cote d'Ivoire, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia in Africa; Guyana and Haiti in the Caribbean and a 15th country has yet to be determined.

Our HIV/AIDS programs will: -use the most effective practices of host governments' national HIV/AIDS strategies; -encourage partners, including multilateral organizations and other host governments, to strengthen their response efforts; and -manage and harmonize the efficient use of resources.

The goal is to provide treatment to 2 million HIV-infected people; prevent 7 million new HIV infections; and provide care to 10 million people infected and affected by HIV/AIDS, including orphans and vulnerable children.