This is the VOA SpecialEnglish Development Report.
President Bush has announced a new five-hundred-million dollarplan to help prevent the spread of the AIDS virus in developingcountries. Mister Bush said the money will be used in severalcountries in Africa and the Caribbean to prevent pregnant women frompassing the AIDS virus to their babies.
Each day, more than two-thousand babies become infected withH-I-V, the virus that causes AIDS. Infected mothers pass the virusto their babies either during pregnancy, birth or whilebreast-feeding. The Bush proposal seeks to provide medicine forone-million pregnant women and their babies each year during thenext five years. The goal is to reduce the number of infected babiesby forty percent. The program also hopes to build health systems sothat mothers and other adults can receive tests and treatment forAIDS and H-I-V.
Earlier this year, Congressapproved two-hundred-million dollars to fight AIDS. The new Bushplan will increase that amount by three-hundred-million dollars overthe next two years. President Bush says the money will be spent inten African and Caribbean countries. They are Botswana, Ivory Coast,Ethiopia, Kenya, Mozambique, Rwanda, South Africa, Uganda, Guyana,and Haiti. United States government agencies will carry out theplan.
President Bush announced his new plan last month before travelingto Canada for a meeting of the world’s seven leading industrializedcountries and Russia. A top issue discussed at the Group of Eightmeeting was aid to Africa. The Bush Administration had been undergrowing international pressure to show support for poor countries.Administration officials hope its new AIDS proposal will easecriticism about American aid to developing nations.
Last year, more than five-million people were infected withH-I-V. About seven-hundred-thousand of those victims were babies.President Bush said that medical science has provided the power tohelp save these young lives. He said this is something the UnitedStates must do.
Mister Bush recently announced he will visit Africa next year. Hesaid the trip will seek to increase trade between the United Statesand African nations. He said other goals are to reduce poverty,protect workers’ rights and support human rights.
This VOA Special English Development Report was written by JillMoss.