US President George W. Bush handed out hugs and bed nets to battle malaria in Tanzania's rural north yesterday, saying the US is part of an international effort to provide enough mosquito netting to protect every child under five in the east African nation.
"The disease keeps sick workers home, school yards quiet, communities in mourning," Bush said in an open air pavilion at Meru District Hospital. "The suffering caused by malaria is needless and every death caused by malaria is unacceptable."
"It is unacceptable to people here in Africa, who see their families devastated and economies crippled. It is unacceptable to people in the United States, who believe every human life has value, and that the power to save lives comes with the moral obligation to use it," he said.
Bush is on a six-day trek through five African nations. The public mission of his travels is to improve health on an impoverished continent. The underlying one is to preserve his initiatives beyond his presidency and cement humanitarianism as a key part of his legacy.
Bush launched a plan in 2005 to dramatically reduce malaria deaths in sub-Saharan Africa, the worst affected region in the world. More than 80 percent of malaria cases happen here. The disease kills at least 1 million infants and children under 5 every year. US Congress so far has put US$425 million toward Bush's US$1.2 billion, five-year program, which has helped more than 25 million people.
In Tanzania alone, malaria kills roughly 100,000 people a year. Bush said the tremendous loss would not be tolerated.
In the northern highlands of Arusha, an area known as a cradle of African safari adventure, Bush announced that the US and Tanzania -- in partnership with the World Bank and The Global Fund -- plan to distribute 5.2 million free bed nets in Tanzania in six months.
That's enough, he said, to provide a net for every child between ages one and five in Tanzania. The Global Fund is a public-private partnership that has committed millions to fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria in 136 countries.
Bush landed here, in sight of the majestic Mount Kilimanjaro, and was greeted by Maasai women dancers who wore purple robes and white discs around their necks. The president joined their line and enjoyed himself, but held off on dancing.
As Bush's motorcade made the long drive from the airport to the hospital, it passed through several villages where hundreds of locals lined the road. At one point, flowers had been strewn in the street before his car.
In the hospital, women spontaneously hugged the president, who is popular here for the help his administration is providing to battle disease.
He visited with pregnant women receiving vouchers for bed nets and children waiting to be diagnosed and treated for malaria. He shook hands as mothers quieted fussy children.
"Women can use these vouchers to buy bed nets at local shops at a huge discount," he said. "So far, an estimated 5 million vouchers have been distributed through these programs."
After his remarks, the president and his wife, first lady Laura Bush, distributed several US-funded bed nets treated with insecticide to women waiting quietly on benches. He said Tanzanians also were involved in campaigns to curb deaths from the disease.
"In one area, residents launched a campaign called `Kataa Malaria,'"Bush said. "For those who don't speak Swahili, it means `Reject Malaria.' As part of the campaign, workers went door-to-door to teach people how to use bed nets. They launched TV and radio ads. They spoke in mosques about malaria prevention and treatment."
While Bush was visiting the hospital, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was headed north from Tanzania into Kenya to try to help push forward deadlocked peace talks. A disputed presidential election there recently led to a wave of violence.
Tanzania is one of 15 countries that benefit through the distribution of live-saving medicines, insecticide spraying and bed nets that keep mosquitoes away at night.
Those bed nets, which cost about US$10, have long-lasting insecticide. The Bushes also were touring a plant where nets are woven, hung on hooks for inspection and bagged for shipment.
The US drive to spend money on the health of Africans, including a larger effort on HIV/AIDS, is appreciated. In a recent Pew Research Center report, African countries held more favorable views of the US than any others in the world.
Archeologists in Peru on Thursday said they found the 5,000-year-old remains of a noblewoman at the sacred city of Caral, revealing the important role played by women in the oldest center of civilization in the Americas. “What has been discovered corresponds to a woman who apparently had elevated status, an elite woman,” archeologist David Palomino said. The mummy was found in Aspero, a sacred site within the city of Caral that was a garbage dump for more than 30 years until becoming an archeological site in the 1990s. Palomino said the carefully preserved remains, dating to 3,000BC, contained skin, part of the
‘WATER WARFARE’: A Pakistani official called India’s suspension of a 65-year-old treaty on the sharing of waters from the Indus River ‘a cowardly, illegal move’ Pakistan yesterday canceled visas for Indian nationals, closed its airspace for all Indian-owned or operated airlines, and suspended all trade with India, including to and from any third country. The retaliatory measures follow India’s decision to suspend visas for Pakistani nationals in the aftermath of a deadly attack by shooters in Kashmir that killed 26 people, mostly tourists. The rare attack on civilians shocked and outraged India and prompted calls for action against their country’s archenemy, Pakistan. New Delhi did not publicly produce evidence connecting the attack to its neighbor, but said it had “cross-border” links to Pakistan. Pakistan denied any connection to
TRUMP EFFECT: The win capped one of the most dramatic turnarounds in Canadian political history after the Conservatives had led the Liberals by more than 20 points Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney yesterday pledged to win US President Donald Trump’s trade war after winning Canada’s election and leading his Liberal Party to another term in power. Following a campaign dominated by Trump’s tariffs and annexation threats, Carney promised to chart “a new path forward” in a world “fundamentally changed” by a US that is newly hostile to free trade. “We are over the shock of the American betrayal, but we should never forget the lessons,” said Carney, who led the central banks of Canada and the UK before entering politics earlier this year. “We will win this trade war and
Armed with 4,000 eggs and a truckload of sugar and cream, French pastry chefs on Wednesday completed a 121.8m-long strawberry cake that they have claimed is the world’s longest ever made. Youssef El Gatou brought together 20 chefs to make the 1.2 tonne masterpiece that took a week to complete and was set out on tables in an ice rink in the Paris suburb town of Argenteuil for residents to inspect. The effort overtook a 100.48m-long strawberry cake made in the Italian town of San Mauro Torinese in 2019. El Gatou’s cake also used 350kg of strawberries, 150kg of sugar and 415kg of
RSS