Bush offers more aid to fight malaria in Africa

By Tabassum Zakaria

ARUSHA, Tanzania (Reuters) - President George W. Bush on Monday announced a plan to distribute bed nets to protect 5.2 million Tanzanian children from the deadly disease.

On the third day of his five-nation Africa tour, Bush traveled to this northern Tanzanian city in the shadow of Mount Kilimanjaro to focus attention on the mosquito-borne disease, which kills at least 1 million infants and children under age 5 in sub-Saharan Africa each year.

"For years malaria has been a health crisis in sub-Saharan Africa. The disease keeps sick workers home, school yards quiet, communities in mourning," he said during a visit to Meru District Hospital. "The suffering caused by malaria is needless and every death caused by malaria is unacceptable."

Calling the effort to help fight malaria in Africa a "campaign of compassion", Bush announced a new plan, in partnership with the World Bank, to distribute 5.2 million insecticide-treated bed nets in Tanzania.

He said the campaign, which will begin within six months, will provide enough nets to protect every child in Tanzania between the ages of 1 and 5.

"This is one of the simplest technologies imaginable, but it's also one of the most effective," said Bush, standing before an audience of pregnant women at the hospital, where he handed out a few bed nets as well as hugs and kisses to some of the women waiting at the hospital.

"This is a campaign of compassion," he said. "This is a practical way to help save lives. It is in the interests of the United States to save lives."

In June 2005 Bush launched a $1.2 billion, 5-year plan to reduce deaths caused by malaria by 50 percent in 15 African countries.