Bush and Africa
It seems the press is finally noticing that President Bush has delivered more aid to Africa than any world leader ever before, and by a long shot. They are so sure of themselves. And so often wrong.
…It is some story. And I have always wondered why it was never told properly to the American people, who were paying for it. It was, for example, Bush who initiated the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) with cross-party support led by Senators John Kerry and Bill Frist. In 2003, only 50,000 Africans were on HIV antiretroviral drugs — and they had to pay for their own medicine. Today, 1.3 million are receiving medicines free of charge. The U.S. also contributes one-third of the money for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria — which treats another 1.5 million. It contributes 50% of all food aid (though some critics find the mechanism of contribution controversial). On a seven-day trip through Africa, Bush announced a fantastic new $350 million fund for other neglected tropical diseases that can be easily eradicated; a program to distribute 5.2 million mosquito nets to Tanzanian kids; and contracts worth around $1.2 billion in Tanzania and Ghana from the Millennium Challenge Account, another initiative of the Bush Administration.
So why doesn’t America know about this? “I tried to tell them. But the press weren’t much interested,” says Bush.
He goes on to blame Bush for failing to communicate this to the media.
I shouldn’t be so hard on this guy - at least he is trying. But the media is more inept than just about any politician in America. And you can’t improve on a problem if you don’t acknowledge it. They are so sure that they are hip and smart and in the know. But in reality, they follow one another in a gigantic circle.
- Aggie
Joe O'Neill said,
March 1, 2008 @ 7:22 am
I learnt long ago That international aid is a system whereby ” A lot of poor people in a few rich countries give money ( through taxes) to a few rich people in a lot of poor countries “