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Ärende: Press Release (0612145) for Thu, 2006 Dec 14
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President Bush Attends White House Summit on Malaria
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For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
December 14, 2006

President Bush Attends White House Summit on Malaria
The National Geographic Society
Washington, D.C.

President's Remarks view

˙˙˙˙˙ Fact Sheet: The White House Summit on Malaria ˙˙˙˙˙ The White House
Summit on Malaria

11:55 A.M. EST

THE PRESIDENT: Thanks for inviting me to what sounded like a festive
occasion. (Laughter.) I'm honored to be here. I'm pleased to visit with you
all here at the National Geographic Society, and I am wont to thank you for
inviting me to come to this important conference. I appreciate all of
today's speakers, including my personal favorite -- (laughter) -- Laura.

As you conclude this summit, we turn our thoughts to those who carry the
burden of sickness during this holiday season. There are members of our own
families here in America who are ill, and they live in villages halfway
around the world away. For many of their illnesses, there is a known relief
-- for many there is no known relief. Yet for malaria, we know exactly what
it takes to prevent and treat the disease. The only question is whether we
have the will to act. All of you have heard the call to act -- and you have
responded, and I appreciate your compassion.

Because of your work, children who once wanted [sic] to die are now
preparing to live, and whole regions are replacing suffering and fear with
hope and health. We can take pride in the progress we have made, and today
we will renew our commitment to a world without malaria.

I just had a state visit, and important visit, with a remarkable leader
from Benin. Mr. President and Mrs. Yayi, welcome to America, and thank you
for being here. (Applause.)

The President is committed to a free society. He understands the need to
confront illness so his people can live in peace. And, Mr. President, I
thank you very much for your commitment and your willingness to work with
those who want to help to eliminate malaria in your country.

I want to thank members of my Cabinet who are here, particularly Madam
Secretary of Education, Margaret Spellings. Thanks for coming. I thank
Randy Tobias. He's the Director of USAID. He, by the way, led the
initiative to help put America squarely in the fight to eliminate HIV/AIDS
on the continent of Africa. Randy, you will have a wonderful legacy in your
service to our country, and I want to thank you.

I appreciate Admiral Timothy Ziemer. He is the U.S. Malaria Coordinator. I
see a lot of people who are working hard in my administration on these
initiatives, and I thank you for your participation. I thank members of the
diplomatic corps who have joined us. I want to thank members of Congress --
I think that's Senator Leahy, Senator Frist -- (laughter) -- thank you all
for coming. Thank you for taking an interest in it. Congressman Smith. I'd
better stop. (Laughter.) I think I'm going to leave somebody out. But I
want to thank you all for your interest in this initiative.

I appreciate John Fahey -- he's the President and CEO of National
Geographic Society -- and Gil Grosvenor. I want to thank Ray Chambers, who
is the Chairman of the Board of Malaria No More. I thank all the social
entrepreneurs who are here. I think people will understand that there is a
call to act when we see a crisis at hand, and I want to thank you for
acting. I appreciate Isaiah Washington, who is the emcee of this event. I
want to thank all the program participants. Thank you all for coming.

By bringing together such a wide variety of people, this summit is sending
a clear message, that we are determined to defeat malaria. We are also
sending a broader message about America's purpose in the world. In this new
century, there is a great divide between those who place no value on human
life, and rejoice in the suffering of others, and those who believe that
every life has matchless value, and answer suffering with compassion and
kindness.

The contrast is vivid -- and the position of America is clear. We will lead
the cause of freedom, justice, and hope, because both our values and our
interests demand it. We believe in the timeless truth: To whom much is
given, much is required. We also know that nations with free, healthy,
prosperous people will be sources of stability, not breeding grounds for
extremists and hate and terror. By making the world more hopeful, we make
the world more peaceful -- and by helping others, the American people must
understand we help ourselves.

One area in which America has a tremendous potential to help is in the
fight against malaria. At home, malaria was eliminated decades ago. It is
possible to eliminate malaria. In Africa, malaria remains a persistent
killer. I think our citizens will be amazed to hear that last year, about a
million Africans died of malaria. The vast majority were children under
five -- their lives ended by nothing more than a mosquito bite. In some
countries, more people die of malaria than HIV/AIDS -- and last week, a new
study showed that people who contract malaria become more likely to spread
HIV. The burden of malaria costs sub-Saharan Africa an estimated $12
billion a year. And if the disease continues to spread, the cost in lives
and lost productivity is going to grow exponentially worse. Now is the time
to act.

Allowing Africa to continue on that path is just simply unacceptable. So we
are acting, and we're leading. And with partners across the world, we are
helping the people of Africa turn the tide against malaria. The goal of
defeating malaria is a challenging goal, yet it can be done. It's not going
to require a miracle, it just requires a smart, sustained, focused effort.
And that's what we're here to talk about.

Experts have identified four key steps for combating malaria in Africa:
distributing insecticide-treated bed nets, expanding indoor insecticide
spraying, providing anti-malaria medicine to pregnant women, and delivering
cutting-edge drugs to people with the disease. These are four things that,
if done, will save lives. They are not impossible things to do. I believe
that our country must help and continue to take the lead. That's why last
year I announced an initiative to increase our commitment to fighting
malaria in Africa. And I want to thank the members of Congress for
supporting this initiative.

We're spending $1.2 billion over five years to provide bed nets, and indoor
spraying, and anti-malaria medicine in 15 African countries. We are
focusing our efforts to eradicate malaria on 15 countries. We are insisting
on measuring. This project is measurable. We can determine whether or not
nets are being distributed or medicine is being provided. But more
importantly, we can measure whether or not we're saving lives. We look --
work toward this historic goal to cut the number of malaria-related deaths
in half. That's what we're headed for, as quickly as possible.

The malaria initiative is off to a strong start. We have launched the
program in three countries: Uganda, Angola, and Tanzania. I want our fellow
citizens to hear this startling statistic: In a short period of time, more
than 6 million people have benefited. It's in our interests that the 6
million people we've helped, lives have been improved. In Uganda, groups
funded by our malaria initiative distributed more than 300,000 nets, and
almost 300,000 doses of medicine to children and pregnant women. In Angola,
the initiative supported a spraying campaign that protected the homes of
more than a half a million people. And in Tanzania, the initiative paid for
local health clinics to distribute more than 130,000 nets, and spray homes
for more than a million people. We're in action. Your taxpayers' money is
working to save lives.

The statistics are impressive -- and behind them are the stories of
families with renewed hope in the future. Not long ago, the Zanzibar
islands off the coast of Tanzania were a hotbed of malaria infection. Then,
with the support of the malaria initiative, local groups launched a
campaign called "Kataa Malaria" -- which is Swahili for "Reject Malaria."
Workers went door-to-door to teach people how to use bed nets, they
launched a campaign of TV and radio ads, and they spoke in mosques about
malaria prevention and treatment. Now the people of Zanzibar are beginning
to see results. One island reported that in the first nine months of this
year, the number of malaria cases dropped almost 90 percent compared to the
same time last year. One man said this: "Personally, the initiative gives
me a leap of faith. The ultimate outcome is that we should have a
malaria-free Zanzibar. There is no turning back."

He's right, there's no turning back. We're going to continue to expand the
malaria initiative to reach other countries across Africa as quickly as
possible. Earlier this year, Laura announced that four nations will join
the initiative in '07: Senegal, Malawi, Rwanda, and Mozambique. And today,
I am going to announce eight more countries will join in '08: Ghana,
Madagascar, Mali, Zambia, Kenya, Liberia, Ethiopia, and Benin. (Applause.)
President, I can assure the people that you are determined to beat malaria
-- and it's that determination by the leadership of a country that is
required for our initiative to be as successful as quickly as it possibly
can. You can count on us as a steady, reliable partner.

Defeating malaria is going to require a lot more work than just the action
of the U.S. government. Defeating malaria requires cooperation between
government and grassroots volunteers. I want to thank the leadership of
Malaria No More, which is energizing the grassroots, and raising money, and
mobilizing thousands of volunteers to fight malaria. There's a lot of
people of our country who if called to serve and to love will do so. Rick
Warren has got a church called Saddleback Church. He believes, like I
believe, to whom much is given, much is required. They're going to send
thousands of volunteers into African villages and clinics. These groups
rely upon the skill of doctors and nurses. And for doctors and nurses who
are serving in Africa to help achieve the goal of eliminating malaria, I
thank you, on behalf of a grateful nation.

I am pleased to announce that I am going to expand a federal program called
Volunteers for Prosperity, which allows organizations that recruit skilled
volunteers to receive federal grants more easily. I believe it's in our
interests to use taxpayers' money to encourage these private-sector
initiatives. Organizations involved with the malaria initiative will find
it easier to receive federal funds, I hope. The point is, we're going to
try to eliminate as much bureaucracy as possible, to get money into the
hands of those who are recruiting and encouraging volunteers to be on the
front line of fighting malaria.

I want to thank all the grassroots volunteers who are here. I want to thank
you for doing what you're doing. I hope that you can do more, and I hope
that this summit, which Laura and her team put together, enables you to go
out and recruit, because the quicker we eliminate malaria, the better off
the world will be.

Defeating malaria requires cooperation between government and the private
sector. When I announced the malaria initiative, I called on foundations
and corporations to participate. In other words, I said, you've got to be
with us; the government alone can't solve the problem. We can address it,
we can fund it, but we need your help. I want to thank The Gates
Foundation. Melinda, thank you for being here. This foundation is a
fantastic example of social entrepreneurship. It was caused to be because
of fantastic business entrepreneurship. It is now using the business
acumen, and the rewards of being smart, to fund unbelievable programs. And
I'm proud of what you're doing.

I want to thank the Red Cross. And, Bonnie, thank you very much. You've
trained thousands of health workers in sub-Saharan Africa, and you're going
to train more. I want to thank the Global Business Coalition that thus far
has brought more than 200 companies together to raise money for bed nets
and other supplies. Two-hundred is a little short, as far as I'm concerned.
In other words, I view it as a good start, kind of a down payment.
(Laughter.)

I want to thank ExxonMobil and Marathon Oil, who funded -- which have
funded anti-malaria projects in some of Africa's most heavily affected
nations. I think it's in your corporate interests that the people of Africa
see that you're willing to invest in the future of their countries.
America's businesses and foundations are showing a lot of wisdom and
generosity -- I appreciate your support.

Defeating malaria requires cooperation between our country and the
international community. We have given nearly $2 billion to the Global Fund
to fight AIDS, and I want to thank the leader of the fund who is here
today. By the way, fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria. And nearly a
quarter of that money has been used for anti-malaria projects. We support
the efforts to fight malaria being led by the WHO, and the new leader; as
well as UNICEF and my friend, Ann Veneman; and the World Bank, where Paul
Wolfowitz has made anti-malaria projects a high priority. Some of our
allies in Europe have committed resources to these efforts -- and, frankly,
they should commit more. This is a global effort to fight malaria. The
United States is proud to take the lead. I encourage other countries -- to
whom much is given much is required -- to step up and give. I want to thank
those who understand that malaria is a global problem, and we've got to
solve it together.

Defeating malaria requires cooperation between America and African nations.
The malaria initiative is based on partnership, Mr. President, not
paternalism. Leaders like you know their people, you know their problems,
and you are determined to solve them. Our job is to help you. I fully
understand that many times people have got great ambitions and great
intentions, but they have no money to do -- to help. And that's why this
government is committed to providing money and technology to help the
leaders accomplish the objectives that we've set forth.

African leaders also understand in the long run that defeating malaria
requires more than nets, and sprays, and drugs. It requires changing the
conditions that help malaria thrive -- poverty, and the lack of education,
and unresponsive governments, and corruption, and the HIV/AIDS pandemic. To
help African leaders overcome these challenges, this administration has
doubled development aid to Africa during my presidency -- and I propose to
double it again by the end of this decade. (Applause.)

We have created the Millennium Challenge Account to support nations that
govern justly. It doesn't make any sense for us to send taxpayers' monies
to countries that steal the money. We give -- and part of the Millennium
Challenge Account, headed by Ambassador Danilovich, is to encourage
countries to invest in their people, and to encourage economic freedom. And
so far we have signed compacts with five African nations, and we're working
on more.

We launched one of the most important initiatives in American history, as
far as I'm concerned, and that is the Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief --
which thus far has brought life-saving drugs to more than 800,000 people on
the continent of Africa in five short years. (Applause.)

Development aid is one thing, but so is the capacity for us to help nations
through trade. I appreciate the work of my predecessor, President Clinton,
and subsequent Congresses, to pass and now extend the African Growth and
Opportunity Act, which has enabled me to report to you that between America
and Africa, trade has doubled since 2001. In all these ways, we stand with
the people of Africa in their time of need. And by doing so, we help lift a
burden of unnecessary suffering, and we help reduce the appeal of
radicalism, and we forge lasting friendships on a continent growing in
strategic importance.

As we come to the end of this historic summit, every citizen can be proud
of the work our nation is doing to fight disease and despair. Our
development agenda in Africa and beyond is the most ambitious commitment
America has made since the Marshall Plan. And once again, our efforts are
showing the world what kind of country America is. We're a nation of
optimistic people and generous people, and decent people, who value human
life. We're a nation that believes that we're fortunate, and that through
our fortune we ought to help others. We're a compassionate people who care
deeply about the future of the world. And it is my honor to lead such a
people.

God bless you all. (Applause.)

END 12:15 P.M. EST

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