For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
June 27, 2002
Fact Sheet: G-8 Africa Action Plan
"We will work in partnership with African nations and leaders for
an African continent that lives in liberty and grows in prosperity."
-President George W. Bush, June 20, 2002
Presidential Action
President Bush today welcomed the G-8's Africa Action Plan a plan
that embraces development policy principles he has articulated over
the past year. The Plan is the G-8's response to the New Partnership for
Africa's Development (NEPAD) a dynamic, hopeful program adopted by
Africa's leaders to spur the region's economic and political revival.
NEPAD's foundation is a commitment to consolidate democracy and sound
economic management, promote peace and security, and boost investment
in people. It reflects an understanding that Africa's future must be
determined by Africans, and Africa's leaders must hold themselves
and each other accountable for their actions.
Consistent with the President's New Compact for Development, the
Africa Action Plan commits each of the G-8 countries to establishing
enhanced partnerships with African countries that have demonstrated,
by their actions, a commitment to development. G-8 Leaders noted
that, assuming strong African policy commitments and given recent
assistance trends, they believe half or more of the new assistance
resources they recently have announced could, in the aggregate, flow
to African nations that are governing justly, investing in the health
and education of their people, and promoting economic freedom.
Highlights of the Plan include:
Creating more opportunities for African nations to expand
trade
Helping African countries to combat HIV/AIDS, especially as
it affects mothers and children, and to build sustainable health
systems
Supporting African countries in their efforts to expand
educational opportunity
Supporting greater World Bank use of
grants for the poorest countries and committing to fund the G-8's
share of the financial shortfall in the Heavily Indebted Poor
Countries initiative
Providing additional support to African
nations as they strive to end armed conflict throughout the continent
The U.S. Commitment to Africa
President Bush will visit Africa early next year. This trip further
underscores the U.S. commitment to the region; President Bush has
already had 16 meetings with 12 African heads of state. And four
members of President Bush's Cabinet Secretary Powell, Secretary
O'Neill, Secretary Thompson, and Ambassador Zoellick have traveled to Africa in their official capacities.
The United States is exploring free trade agreements with
Morocco and the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) and is working
to tear down trade barriers and promote Africa's integration into the global economy.
The United States recently announced a $500 million initiative to prevent mother to child transmission of HIV. And we continue to be
the largest contributor to the global HIV/AIDS Fund.
The United
States is doubling its financial commitment to the African Education
Initiative it launched last July, bringing our total basic education
spending in Africa to $630 million over the next five years.
The
United States is pursuing policies to foster lasting peace and
security throughout Africa.
Stimulating Economic Growth and Opportunity Through Trade and Investment
The African Action Plan recognizes President Bush's emphasis on
expanded trade and investment as the primary engines of economic
growth for African countries. To this end, G-8 Leaders have
committed to:
Supporting African initiatives aimed at improving the climate
for trade and foreign investment
Providing greater market
opportunities for African products by negotiating further trade
liberalization, particularly in agriculture, through the WTO
negotiations
Supporting African efforts to advance regional
economic integration and intra-African trade
Reducing trade barriers in Africa will yield valuable new
opportunities for African businesses and entrepreneurs. Thanks to AGOA, more than 92% of U.S. imports from beneficiary countries are now entering the U.S. duty free.
In 2001, U.S. imports of non-fuel goods covered by AGOA rose
33.5%.
The United States has made the following additional important
commitments to further reducing trade barriers and spurring growth in
Africa:
Exploring a bilateral free trade agreement with Morocco and a
regional free trade agreement with the Southern African Customs
Union.
Creation of three regional trade hubs in Africa to promote
African trade, the first of which opened last week in Botswana.
Refinements to the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), which will expand opportunities for trade between the United States and
African countries.
Steadfast pursuit of the global trade
negotiations launched last year at Doha. These negotiations will
benefit African nations, especially by opening agriculture markets
and reducing trade-distorting farm subsidies.
New Compact for Development
The Africa Action Plan builds on President Bush's new compact for
development, which is embodied in his Millennium Challenge Account
(MCA) initiative. Under the MCA, the United States will increase its core assistance
to developing countries by 50% over the next three years, resulting
in a $5 billion annual increase over current levels by the 2006
fiscal year. The funds in the Millennium Challenge Account will be distributed to developing
countries that demonstrate a strong commitment to governing justly,
investing in people, and advancing economic freedom. The MCA will be
a vital tool for U.S. activities in support of the G-8's Africa
Action Plan.
Combatting HIV/AIDS
The Africa Action Plan carries forward initiatives of President
Bush in combatting the scourge of HIV/AIDS. Of the world's 25 most
HIV/AIDS afflicted countries, 24 are in Africa. And in seven of these
countries, more than one in five people are infected with HIV/AIDS. Last year alone,
there were 3.4 million new cases of HIV/AIDS reported in Africa.
To combat these problems, G-8 Leaders have made a number of
commitments in the Africa Action Plan that reinforce President Bush's policies
to counter HIV/AIDS in Africa and throughout the world.
The President recently announced a new $500 million
initiative to reduce the incidence of transmission of HIV/AIDS from mothers to
children. This is the largest initiative targeted at preventing mother-to-child
transmission of HIV by any government in history. Under the
initiative, up to one million women will receive treatment annually.
In the targeted countries, we can reduce the incidence of mother to
child transmission of HIV/AIDS by 40% within five years or less.
President Bush has also proposed $1.1 billion in global HIV/AIDS
assistance in his fiscal 2003 budget double the level of funding
when he took office.
President Bush announced last year the
first major contribution tothe Global HIV/AIDS Fund. The United States remains the largest
contributor to the Fund. The total U.S. contribution of $500 million represents one
quarter of the Fund's total resources.
Improving Educational Opportunity in Africa
With increased levels of education, African countries can become
more productive, leading to higher rates of growth that in turn foster
higher living standards. The Africa Action Plan builds on a number
of education initiatives championed by President Bush. Specific
commitments include:
>Significantly increasing the support provided by bilateral aid
agencies to basic education to those countries maintaining a strong
policy and financial commitment to education
Advancing
transparency in education budgeting down to the local level
Supporting teacher training initiatives and creating accountabilit= y
mechanisms
Increasing assistance to Africa's research and higher
education capacity
Helping Africa create digital opportunities
Providing girls with scholarships to increase access to education
President Bush is doubling the funding of the Africa Education
Initiative to $200 million. These new funds will provide:
Training for 420,000 teachers
4.5 million new textbooks
250,000 scholarships for African girls
Total U.S. spending on basic education programs in Africa will be
over $630 million over the next five years.
World Bank Grants and Debt Reduction
G-8 partners supported President Bush's vigorous effort to stop the
buildup of debt for the poorest countries. They supported a U.S.-led
initiative to provide a substantial increase in World Bank grants for the poorest
countries. The G-8 launched the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries
(HIPC) initiative to help countries in Africa and elsewhere in the
world achieve both sustainable economic policies and sustainable debt
levels. The United States and its G-8 partners have now committed to
do our share to fully finance the projected shortfall in the HIPC
initiative, recognizing that this shortfall will be up to $1 billion.
The HIPC initiative will ultimately reduce by nearly $33 billion
the debt of 22 African countries who are following sound economic
policies and good governance. The G-8 will also add more debt relief
("topping up") for those HIPCs with economies hard hit by
extraordinary external shocks. The United States already goes well
beyond the international agreement on bilateral debt relief for
HIPCs, forgiving 100% of their official bilateral debt both
developmental and commercial.
Achieving Peace and Security
The G-8 Africa Action Plan includes a commitment to "make conflict
prev= ention and resolution a top priority." To this end, G-8 leaders
have agreed to a number of significant measures:
Supporting African efforts to resolve principal armed
conflicts in the region
Providing more effective peace-building support to
societies emerging from or seeking to prevent armed conflicts.
Continuing to work with African governments to develop a joint plan
for the development of African capability to undertake peace support
operations.
President Bush recognizes the importance of peace and security for
Africa's future growth and prosperity. He 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 this
year to help African nations on the front lines of the war on terror.
Appointing an envoy for peace in Sudan, former Senator Danforth,
whose work over the past year has led to progress toward a cease-fire
and improveddelivery 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 re= sponsible for genocide and
terror acts in Central Africa.
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