Spend 1.2 billion on flyswatters and millions die anyway.
Lift the ban at a cost of nothing and save millions of lives.
Do the right thing Mr. President.
Posted on 06/30/2005 10:42:48 AM PDT by Rastus
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Bush, under pressure to provide more help to Africa ahead of a Group of Eight summit next week, proposed on Thursday that Washington take on a greater role in combating malaria in sub-Saharan Africa as part of what he called a doubling of U.S. aid.
With Africa a top agenda item for G8 leaders meeting July 6 to 8 in Gleneagles, Scotland, Bush said he would ask Congress to spend $1.2 billion through 2008 to help fight malaria, which claims an estimated 1.2 million people a year worldwide, 95 percent of them in sub-Saharan Africa.
In addition, the White House announced $400 million for an African education initiative over four years to help improve basic education for millions of African children.
Bush is under pressure to increase aid for Africa after having turned down a proposal by British Prime Minister Tony Blair to give the continent as much as $50 billion a year by making long-term aid commitments that would allow poor countries to raise money on global capital markets.
Blair, whose country holds the rotating presidency this year of the G8 grouping of wealthy countries, is still pushing for other nations to join in his plan after declaring 2005 a make-or-break year for plans to lift Africa out of poverty.
Bush said the United States will take action next year in Tanzania, Uganda and Angola to provide malaria assistance.
"America will bring this anti-malaria effort to at least four more highly endemic African countries in 2007 and at least five more in 2008. In the next five years with the approval of Congress we'll spend more than $1.2 billion on this campaign," Bush said in a speech to the Hudson Institute.
He said this was part of an effort to double U.S. assistance to Africa by 2010.
California Democratic Rep. Tom Lantos (news, bio, voting record), ranking Democrat on the House of Representatives International Relations Committee, welcomed the announcement but said "it comes with no commitment to use new funding resources in the first year, so it will take money from existing health programs" for Africa.
"This is typical of the administration's rhetoric on African aid," he said. "This administration is playing a shell game with all assistance to Africa except its high-profile efforts on HIV/AIDS."
Chad Dobson, U.S. policy director for the anti-poverty organization Oxfam, said Bush's pledge will mean an extra $900 million a year for Africa and this is a welcome first step.
"However it is widely calculated that $25 billion is needed annually for Africa so we hope the announcement today is just the beginning of a much bigger US commitment to fighting poverty," he said.
(Additional reporting by Tabassum Zakaria)
"How about we keep the $1.2 billion and work to get the DDT ban lifted?"
Uh, because common sense is usually something that escapes those in the gov't.
NO MORE TAXPAYER DOLLARS FOR CORRUPT FOREIGN GOVERNMENTS DAMMIT!
How about putting the $1.2 billion into a fund for the victims of eminent domain seizures who, unlike Africans, actually contribute to the economy of America.
Or better yet, don't spend it at all.
I so love 'conservative' government. More wasteful spending.
How about 1.2 billion to stop the spread of illegal aliens into this country?
Hey George...why don't you focus on those narrow roles the Constitution assigns to you? Being generous is so easy...when you use other people's money.
How about 1.2 billion to secure our border with Mexico.
he needs to stay on the iraq theme. this is where he blew it last time, running off to talk about social security non-stop for months while the Dems and the media bled away US public support about iraq. americans don't really care about malaria in africa.
Spender
Ever.
Geeze, that's over 2.4 billion he's given to Africa to fight AIDA and now Malaria. I'm so glad our Conservative President is compassionate and generous. It makes giving our tax dollars to foreign countries feel so much better. < / sarcasm >
Whatever happened to...."its not the GOVERNMENTS money....its YOUR money.."
What the hell...a billion here...a billion there...pretty soon we'll have some real change.
Now it's all about daddy Bush's "kinder, gentler nation" and sonny boy's "compassion."
The GOP needs new blood in the worst way.
Perhaps this is all just another Rovian political calculation...
I've been off FR for a week. When I heard this in my car I hit the ceiling. GWB is really starting to piss me off.
He always has to cave in to the leftist whiners. The money isn't yours to propose to give, Mr. Prez.
Bush the liberal strikes again.
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