For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
June 20, 2002
Fact Sheet: The U.S. Commitment to Africa's Growth and Prosperity
Presidential Action
Today at the Leon Sullivan Summit in Washington, D.C., President
Bush will outline new policies to help Africa achieve economic growth,
lasting peace, and widespread prosperity:
- The President will announce that he will visit Africa early next
year to reaffirm U.S. commitment to the region.
- The President will announce a doubling of funds for the African
Education Initiative announced last July, bringing our total basic
education spending in Africa to $630 million over the next 5 years.
- The President will highlight Administration policies designed to
help Africa combat the scourge of HIV/AIDs, tear down trade barriers
to economic growth, and achieve lasting peace and security.
Improving Africa's Education
With increased levels of education, rich and poor countries become
more productive, leading to higher rates of growth that in turn allow
for improved standards of living. The current state of education in
Africa, however, is preventing the continent from fulfilling this path
toward greater prosperity. Consider:
- Primary school enrollments and literacy rates in Africa are
among the lowest in the world.
- 42 million school children in
sub-Saharan Africa are not enrolled in school.
- Many children cannot
afford to go or stay in primary school.
The U.S. wants to help provide Africa's children with the
advantages of literacy and basic education. Toward this end, the
Administration will double the funding of the Africa Education
Initiative to $200 million, providing:
- Training for 420,000 teachers;
- 4.5 million new textbooks; and
- 250,000 scholarships for African girls.
Combatting HIV/AIDS
The current HIV/AIDS scourge combined with a woefully inadequate
health care system continue to handicap African, Caribbean, and other
countries in pursuit of economic growth and poverty reducing policies.
Consider:
- HIV/AIDS has already killed over 20 million people worldwide and
is expected to kill 40 million more
- Of the world's 25 most HIV/AIDS
afflicted countries, 24 are in Africa, with seven countries already
having prevalence rates above 20% of the population.
- In 2001 alone,
Africa HIV/AIDS infections grew by 3.4 million.
Yesterday at the White House President Bush announced a new $500
million International Mother and Child HIV Prevention Initiative that
seeks to prevent the transmission of HIV/AIDS from mothers to infants
and to improve health care delivery in Africa and the Caribbean. Under
this initiative:
- Up to one million women will receive treatment annually;
- Mother to child transmission will be reduced by forty percent within
five years or less in twelve African countries and the Caribbean.
This initiative is scaleable so that it could be expanded within
these countries or additional countries globally at a future time.
In FY 2002, the United States is providing $988 million for global
HIV/AIDS assistance -- a 36% increase over FY 2001. In his FY 2003
Budget, President Bush proposed $1.1 billion in global HIV/AIDS
assistance, including $640 million for USAID and $477 for HHS -- a 13
percent increase. The Bush Administration has dedicated $500 million
to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, making the
United States by far the leading contributor to the Fund.
With this initiative, the United States is raising by $500 million
its commitment to stop mother-to-child transmission of HIV/AIDS, which
was funded at less than $20 million in FY '01. This new International
Mother and Child HIV Prevention Initiative reflects an additional
commitment beyond the existing U.S. commitment to the Global Fund.
Reducing Trade Barriers to Economic Growth
Reducing trade barriers in Africa will yield new opportunities for
African businesses and entrepreneurs, create new jobs, and spur much
needed investment in the region. At the moment, however, most of
Africa continues to adopt protectionist policies. Sub-Saharan Africa,
for example, maintains average tariff rates of 19% -- nearly 50% higher
than the average tariff level of developing countries:
- Although Sub-Saharan Africa has roughly 11 percent of the
world's population, it only generates 1 percent of world economic
activity and 1.5 percent of global trade.
- In 1999, average GDP per
capita in Africa was only $504, one-tenth of the global average of
$5,117.
The U.S. is committed to ensuring that Africa becomes a vibrant
partner on the global economic stage. The African Growth and
Opportunity Act (AGOA) has achieved great success with more than 92%
of U.S. imports from beneficiary countries now entering the U.S. duty
free. In total, non-fuel imports from AGOA beneficiaries grew by more
than 8% in 2001 while total U.S. global imports declined by nearly 7%.
In addition, the U.S. has made the following commitments to further
reducing trade barriers and spurring growth in Africa:
- Creation of three regional trade hubs in Africa to promote
African trade, the first of which was opened yesterday (June 19, 2002)
in Botswana.
- Revisions to the African Growth and Opportunity Act
(AGOA), enhancing opportunities for African countries.
- Steadfast
pursuit of successful Doha negotiations in partnership with developing
countries.
Achieving Peace and Security
Peace and Security are necessary conditions for future growth and
prosperity in Africa.
- Regional wars in Africa take hundreds of lives each week.
- At
the beginning of this administration, there were five major wars in
Africa: Angola, Burundi, Congo, Sierra Leone, and Sudan.
The President is pursuing a strategy to end these wars and combat
terror in Africa. We will help African nations and organizations
develop their ability to respond to crises and will work closely with
responsible African leaders and our allies in Europe to support
regional peace initiatives. The Administration's strategy consists
of:
- Asking the Congress to provide an additional 55 million dollars
in funds this year to help African nations on the front lines of the
war on terror.
- Appointing envoy for peace in Sudan, former Senator
Danforth, who has made progress towards a cease-fire and improved
delivery of humanitarian aid to places such as the Nuba Mountains
region.
- Building the capacity of regional peacekeepers to secure
peace in places like Sierra Leone.
- Supporting demobilization of
soldiers in Angola to consolidate peace.
- Launching a $5 million
awards program to track down individuals responsible for genocide and
terror acts in Central Africa.
|