Mrs. Bush's Remarks at the Mututa Memorial Center
Mututa Memorial Center
Lusaka, Zambia
June 28, 2007
1:17 P.M. (Local)
MRS. BUSH: Thank you very much, Bruce. Thank you for your very
kind introduction, for showing us all the great things that you've shown
us today.
I want to recognize Mrs. Maureen Mwanamasa. Thank you very much.
Thank you for your hospitality to your beautiful country. Also, Angela
Cifire, the Deputy Minister of Sports, thank you very much for joining
us today. Elisabeth Mataka, who is the Special Envoy from the United
Nations Secretary General for HIV/AIDS in Africa. Also, you might be
interested to you know, she's the vice chair of the Global Fund board of
directors.
Jill Rademacher -- is Jill here? Did Jill come? I don't see her
here. So we won't recognize her. (Laughter.) Martha Chilufya, thank
you very, very much. Thank you for your hospitality while we're here,
and thank you for your good work, your good and compassionate work.
Ambassador Mark Dybul, who is the U.S. Global AIDS coordinator, is
with us. Let's see, where is he? There he is, right here on the front
row. And Admiral Tim Ziemer, U.S. malaria coordinator, thank you very
much, both of you, for joining me here in Zambia.
Patients, caregivers and distinguished guests, thank you very much
for the warm welcome to Zambia. Zambia is a strong partner with the
United States. Together, our countries are working to advance goals
shared by people everywhere: improved opportunities for families,
economic empowerment, and most of all, good health.
Our countries have formed partnerships to address malaria, which is
a treatable and preventable disease that claims more than a million
lives every year. Zambia has an ambitious national malaria control
program, and through effective new medicines, and the increased use of
mosquito sprays and bed nets, Zambia is making great strides against
this epidemic.
These efforts are supported by the U.S. government through the
President's Malaria Initiative. This five-year program has one goal:
eliminating malaria in Africa. Working with Zambia's national
malaria-control program, the President's Malaria Initiative will help
conduct indoor residual spraying, provide life-saving bed nets and
medicines, and treat pregnant women who are especially vulnerable to
this disease.
Here at Mututa, patients benefit from insecticide-treated bed nets
supplied through the Zambia Partnership. It's an unprecedented
partnership between governments, businesses, and religious groups to
reduce the suffering caused by malaria. The U.S. government supports
this initiative through the President's Malaria Initiative and the
President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief. Thirteen members of the
Global Business Council have contributed over a million and a half
dollars to the project. They're joined by World Vision's RAPIDS
Consortium, which unites several faith institutions, including Catholic
Relief Services, the Salvation Army, Expanded Church Response, CARE, and
Africare.
Through the Zambian Partnership, 500,000 mosquito nets will be
distributed to the country's most vulnerable households before the next
malaria season in November. They'll reach about a million young
children, pregnant mothers, and people infected with HIV/AIDS.
Through partnerships between Zambia and the United States, we're
addressing one of the greatest humanitarian crises of all times: the
challenge of HIV/AIDS. Through the President's Emergency Plan, our
country has provided hundreds of millions of dollars to combat HIV/AIDS
in Zambia. In partnership with the Zambia National HIV/AIDS Strategic
Framework, these resources support programs that prevent mother-to-child
HIV transmission, and they've supplied nearly 100,000 people with
antiretroviral treatment.
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