President Signs HIV/AIDS Act
Remarks by the President on the Signing of H.R. 1298, the U.S. Leadership Against Hiv/Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria Act of 2003
Dean Acheson Auditorium
U.S. Department of State
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all very much. I'm so pleased that so
many could be here to witness this historic moment, as our nation sets
forth a great mission of rescue. The United States of America has a
long tradition of sacrifice in the cause of freedom. And we've got a
long tradition of being generous in the service of humanity. We are
the nation of the Marshall Plan, the Berlin Airlift, and the Peace
Corps. And now we're the nation of the Emergency Plan for AIDS
relief. (Applause.)
HIV/AIDS is one of the greatest medical challenges of our time.
The disease has killed more than 20 million people. Today, 42 million
more are living with HIV. Across Africa, this disease is filling
graveyards and creating orphans and leaving millions in a desperate
fight for their own lives.
They will not fight alone. Because they will have the help and the
friendship of the United States of America. (Applause.) The
legislation I sign today launches an emergency effort that will provide
$15 billion over the next five years to fight AIDS abroad. This is the
largest, single up front commitment in history for an international
public health initiative involving a specific disease.
America makes this commitment for a clear reason, directly rooted
in our founding. We believe in the value and dignity of every human
life. (Applause.)
In the face of preventable death and suffering, we have a moral
duty to act, and we are acting. I want to thank Tommy Thompson and
Colin Powell for their leadership on this crucial issue. There are no
better people than to trust in seeing that the great heart and
compassion of America is recognized in our world through
accomplishment.
I appreciate -- Tony Fauci is here. Tony has been on the front
line of the war against HIV/AIDS for a long time, and I appreciate you
representing the National Institute of Allergies and Infectious
Diseases. (Applause.) I appreciate Rich Carmona, is the U.S. Surgeon
General, for joining us. Thank you for being here, Rich. (Applause.)
I want to thank a member of my staff, the Director of the Office of
National AIDS Policy, Dr. Joseph O'Neill, for his leadership.
(Applause.)
It is my honor to recognize Dr. Kenneth Kaunda, the former
President of Zambia is with us today, as well. (Applause.)
I'm grateful that the ambassadors and the senior officials from
African and Caribbean nations are with us. I appreciate their
leadership. Send a message back home that we are earnest and
determined to help you wipe out AIDS in your country. (Applause.)
I want to thank all the faith-based and community activists and
leaders who are here who share our passion and desire to help those who
suffer. Your efforts took place long before we arrived here in
Washington -- or, at least, I arrived here in Washington -- and all we
want to do is stand by your side as we march down the road of a hopeful
tomorrow for people who suffer.
I want to thank the members of the House and the Senate who are
here. Bill Frist has been a leader on this issue and he, along with
Senator Richard Lugar and Senator Joe Biden, the Senate Foreign
Relations Committee, delivered. Mr. Leader, thank you. (Applause.)
I appreciate my friend, Congressman Tom Lantos, for being here. He
represents the House Foreign Relations Committee. Chairman Hyde is not
here but, nevertheless, the two worked really well together.
(Applause.)
I am pleased to see Senator Santorum and DeWine are here. Thank
you all for coming, and thank you for your leadership on this issue. I
also want to thank the members of the House, Congressmen Pitts, Smith,
King, and Congresswoman Barbara Lee for joining us, as well. Thank you
all for your interest and thanks for coming. (Applause.)
When I stood in front of the Congress four months ago, I was
confident that the U.S. Congress would respond. I was confident that
they would hear the call for a bold initiative, and they responded.
And they have my gratitude and they have the gratitude of millions
around the world for their leadership on this issue, and I want to
thank you all very much. (Applause.)
This Act of Congress addresses one of the most urgent needs of the
modern world. Because of the AIDS pandemic, a child born today in
sub-Sahara Africa has a life expectancy of 47 years. This disease
falls most heavily on women and children. Nearly 60 percent of those
infected by HIV in sub-Sahara Africa are women. Three million African
children under 15 have the AIDS virus, 3 million. And the disease has
left 11 million orphans, more children than live in the entire state of
California.
Behind these numbers are names. There is Mbongeni, a 15 year old
boy who lost both his mother and father to AIDS, and now struggles to
feed his two siblings and two nephews.
There is Leonora, the mother of five in Kenya, who cares for five
other children she has taken into her home -- all of them AIDS orphans,
all of whom would be on the streets without her love. There is Ruth, a
young mother dying of AIDS at 24, ostracized by her late husband's
family, asking, "Who will take care of my children?"
This is the daily reality of a continent in crisis, and America
will not look away. This great nation is stepping forward to help.
The fight against AIDS is difficult, but not hopeless. We know how to
prevent AIDS, and we know how to treat it. The cost of effective
medicines has fallen dramatically. And we made progress here in our
own country where we have increased spending for domestic HIV
prevention and care and treatment by 7 percent in next year's budget.
We will also help the people across Africa who are struggling against
this disease, and those who have proven on a day-by-day basis the
battle can be won.
We see hope in the work of individuals like the former President of
Zambia who lost his son to AIDS, a son who left several children to the
care of their grandfather. The good President turned his grief to good
works and created the Kenneth Kaunda Children of Africa Foundation.
His foundation pays for food and medical care and schooling for AIDS
orphans. Mr. President, we honor you for your service and for the
example you have shown to others who live on your ravished continent.
Thank you for coming today, sir. (Applause.)
We see hope in the many religious and educational institutions that
are doing effective work on the front line of the AIDS crisis.
Catholic Medical Mission Board, for example, runs 15 clinics in
southern Africa and Haiti, where more than 20,000 pregnant women each
year receive HIV testing and counseling and drug therapy to prevent the
transmission of the virus to their children.
I want to thank Jack Galbraith for the fine work of Catholic
Medical Mission. And I want to thank all of you all who have heard
that call to love a neighbor just like you'd like to be loved
yourself. Thank you for your service to those who suffer. May God
continue to bless your work. (Applause.)
We see hope in the actions of African governments that are acting
responsibly and aggressively to fight AIDS. The nation of Uganda is
pursuing a successful strategy of prevention, emphasizing abstinence
and marital fidelity, as well as the responsible use of condoms to
prevent HIV transmission. The results in Uganda have been remarkable.
The AIDS infection rate has fallen sharply since 1990, and in some
places the percentage of pregnant women with HIV has been cut in half.
The Uganda plan is proving that major progress is possible.
And now we must spread that progress to suffering nations
throughout the world. By the legislation I will sign today, the United
States of America will take the side of individuals and groups and
governments fighting HIV/AIDS in Africa and other parts of the world.
We'll provide unprecedented resources to the effort. And we will keep
our commitment until we have turned the tide against AIDS. (Applause.)
Under this legislation, America will provide additional money for
the Global Fund for AIDS Relief, and additional funding for our efforts
in many countries to prevent mother-to-child transmission of the
disease. And we will focus our efforts on 12 African and two Caribbean
countries where HIV/AIDS is heavily concentrated.
We will purchase low-cost anti-retroviral medications and other
drugs that are needed to save lives. We will set up a broad and
efficient network to deliver drugs to the farthest reaches of Africa.
Even by motorcycle, or bicycle. We will train doctors and nurses and
other health care professionals so they can treat HIV/AIDS patients.
We will renovate and, where necessary, build and equip clinics and
laboratories. We will support the care of AIDS orphans by training and
hiring child care workers. We'll provide home-based care to ease the
suffering of people living with AIDS.
We'll provide HIV testing throughout all regions of the targeted
countries. We'll support abstinence-based prevention education for
young people in schools and churches and community centers. We will
assist faith-based and community organizations to provide treatment
prevention and support services in communities affected by HIV/AIDS.
We are developing a system to monitor and evaluate this entire program,
so we can truly say to people, we care more about results than words.
We're interested in lives saved. And lives will be saved. (Applause.)
This comprehensive program has the potential in this decade to
prevent 7 million new HIV infections, provide life-extending drugs to
at least 2 million infected people, give humane care to 10 million HIV
sufferers and AIDS orphans. This is a massive undertaking, and the
dedicated men and women of the United States government are eager to
get started.
To coordinate this effort, I will soon nominate a global AIDS
coordinator who will have the rank of ambassador. This coordinator
will work closely with the Departments of State and Health and Human
Services, as well as with USAID and the Centers for Disease Control, to
direct the efforts in the worldwide fight against AIDS.
I'm going to Europe here at the end of this week, and I will
challenge our partners and our friends to follow our lead and to make a
similar commitment made by the United States of America so we can save
even more lives. (Applause.)
I will remind them that time is not on our side. Every day of
delay means 8,000 more AIDS deaths in Africa and 14,000 more infections
-- every day, 14,000 more people will be infected. I'll urge our
European partners and Japan and Canada to join this great mission of
rescue, to match their good intentions with real resources.
The suffering in Africa is great. The suffering in the Caribbean
is great. The United States of America has the power and we have the
moral duty to help. And I'm proud that our blessed and generous nation
is fulfilling that duty. (Applause.)
Now, it is my honor and high privilege to sign this life-saving
piece of legislation. God bless you all. (Applause.)