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The president visited five countries - all relatively stable
democracies that receive substantial U.S. aid: Benin, Tanzania,
Rwanda, Ghana and Liberia.
Bush's Africa initiatives
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President Bush is popular in Africa for his efforts to
improve business development and health conditions. |
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President Bush was greeted enthusiastically each place he
went. Dancers in Tanzania wore outfits decorated with his
face. Thousands of schoolchildren in Ghana waved flags as
his car passed.
Bush's popularity on the continent is due, in large part,
to humanitarian and development policies championed by his
administration.
The best-known of these policies is the President's Emergency
Plan for AIDS Relief. PEPFAR, launched in 2003, has invested
$15 billion over five years, making it the largest investment
to fight a single disease in history. Bush also introduced
the President's Malaria Initiative in 2005 to combat the mosquito-borne
disease in Africa.
The Bush administration also promoted the Millennium Challenge
Accounts, which grants humanitarian aid to countries who sign
compacts promising to make political and economic reforms.
Steven Radelet, an expert on African development, described
the program as "an imaginative and creative new way to
think about foreign assistance," to the Council on Foreign
Relations.
First stop, Benin
The president first touched
down in Benin, a tiny country in Western Africa that has been
a stable democracy since 1990 and is one of the continent's
largest cotton producers.
Poverty, however, remains a major problem in the country:
Almost 38 percent of its population lives below the poverty
line.
The United States is helping fund initiatives there to improve
the country's infrastructure and attract foreign investment.
Benin is also part of the President's Malaria Initiative.
Tanzania
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Patients wait for care at a clinic in Tanzania, where
malaria and HIV infection are serious health problems. |
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Tanzania, located in East Africa, faces high HIV infection rates
- approximately 7 percent of its population is HIV-positive.
The country benefits from PEPFAR and Malaria Initiative money.
Vouchers for 2 million mosquito nets have been handed out in
the country.
During his visit to Tanzania, the president visited health
facilities to see the results of those programs and met with
Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete to sign a Millennium Challenge
Compact worth almost $700 million.
Rwanda
Rwanda is a tiny landlocked country in central Africa. In 1994,
a brutal campaign of genocide left an estimated 800,000 people
dead. Rwanda is now trying to promote reconciliation and expand
its economy. The country also receives extensive foreign aid
from the United States for HIV/AIDS and malaria.
Ghana
Ghana was the first African country to gain independence from
European colonial powers in 1957, but it did not have a successful
democratic transition between presidents until 2000.
The country's economy is diverse and growing, especially thanks
to the discovery of offshore oil in 2006. Among other projects,
the United States has rewarded Ghana with teacher-training funding
to strengthen the country's free and mandatory primary and secondary
education system.
Liberia
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President Charles Taylor's violent rule over Liberia ended
in 2003. |
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Liberia, located in West Africa, was formed in 1820 by freed
slaves and African-Americans from the United States. The country
was plagued by civil war from 1989 to 1996, followed by the
brutal leadership of President Charles Taylor until 2003. Liberia's
current president is now trying to rebuild the country.
President Bush called for Taylor's resignation, and a popular
song in Liberia has a chorus that proclaims: "Thank God
for George Bush!"
Africa's most troubled regions
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President Bush did not visit any troubled African nations
like Sudan, where there is a refugee crisis. |
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Bush's trip did not include
visits to Africa's more crisis-plagued countries, such as Sudan,
Somalia, or Zimbabwe. He did, however, speak about conflict
in the Darfur region of Sudan during his stop in Rwanda. He
urged other nations to join with Rwandan President Paul Kagame
and "help us get this problem solved once and for all."
While some criticized the president for not visiting countries
in trouble, others applauded his efforts to combat disease
and poverty. U2 singer and activist Bono said last week, "President
Bush has every reason to be proud of what he and so many others
have accomplished in Africa," reported the Wall Street
Journal.
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The first major foreign policy issue they talked about was Iraq and on this issue I think we've got to give the win to Gov. Palin...She connected on this issue with the American people and in a debate it is imperative that you connect with your judge.
