During his State of the Union, and during a trip to Africa earlier this year, President Bush promoted a bold initiative to fight AIDS. He pledged $15 million over five years.

The Global AIDS Act, which the president signed in May, authorizes Congress to spend $3 billion next year for AIDS prevention and treatment, but Congress, so far, has only agreed to spend $2 billion, an increase of $500 million over the amount the U.S. government spent on health services in Africa before Bush’s plan.

President Bush’s original plan could prevent as many as 7 million people from contracting AIDS, provide 2 million people with life-saving treatment and help care for 10 million orphans and families affected by the disease.

In Kenya, it can cost as little as $480 a year to provide the medical care a sick and endangered child needs, and in Botswana a dollar a day can supply the drugs needed to treat a child with AIDS.

Some countries in sub-Saharan Africa are being decimated four times over. Again in Botswana, four in 10 adults are HIV positive, and life expectancy has dropped from the mid 60s to 37 years for women and 38 years for men. In a single clinic, about 30 children are tested every day. Twelve test positive for HIV.

U.S. interests in the fate of Africa should go beyond humanitarianism. The AIDS epidemic creates failing states, where education, economic development and stability crumble into chaos. Where there is chaos, there is a fertile garden for despots and terrorists. Refusing to do our part should not only offend our hearts, it should offend our brains. Our self-interest is wrapped in the outcome of the extinction-level AIDS epidemic that is brewing in Africa.

The White House and other opponents of the spending say that the infrastructure does not exist to effectively manage a $3 billion investment.

The people on the ground say something different. Dr. Mark Kline and Dr. Shaffiq Essajee run small clinics in Africa. They tell stories of underserved patients and clinics struggling to meet growing demands, starved of support and funds but willing and able to serve.

The doctors also talk about the people they see. One woman walks two days to bring her child for treatment. And the myths surrounding AIDS and the stigma of seeking help are receding.

“Treatment has a powerful destigmatizing affect,” Kline told the Sun Journal. “Treatment brings hope.”

The sooner money is put to work, the better the results. The longer we wait to intervene, the more damage that will need to be undone. The additional billion dollars could prevent 1.7 million people from getting the virus and provide medicine for another 400,000 who are already infected.

The people of Africa have a compelling interest in saving their own lives and the lives of their children. They want the same things we all do. A chance for health, prosperity, life.

“Seldom has history offered a greater opportunity to do so much for so many,” the president said during the State of the Union.

President Bush stood before America and made a promise. He went to Africa and made the same promise again. Now he should keep it.


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