First lady Laura
Bush picked vegetables and handed out mosquito nets
Tuesday to emphasize that fighting AIDS in Africa also means
tackling some of the continent's even more widespread
afflictions: malnutrition and malaria.
''It's often
overlooked that one of the essential things in the treatment
of AIDS or HIV is good nutrition,'' she said after touring a
garden whose produce is used to supplement the meals
of AIDS patients at a Dakar hospital.
Mrs. Bush gave
mosquito nets to AIDS patients as a doctor explained that
insect-borne malaria--the biggest killer in
Senegal--is even more dangerous for those who
are HIV-positive.
The first lady
and her daughter Jenna are on a four-nation African tour
in which Mrs. Bush is expected to focus on how the United
States can help a poverty-stricken continent
provide health care and economic opportunity. Mrs.
Bush is also visiting Mozambique, Zambia, and Mali on
her third trip to Africa.
They were
accompanied on Tuesday's visit by Senegal's first lady,
Viviane Wade, and her daughter. The four women picked
eggplants and kale at the Fann Hospital garden in this
West African capital. AIDS patients at the hospital
tend the garden, receive instruction on how vegetables can
boost their nutrition, and are allowed to sell excess
produce for income.
Malnutrition is a
serious problem in Senegal and the surrounding region,
where poverty often determines food choices. In parts of
West Africa, fruits and vegetables disappear during
the dry season, and diabetes is becoming increasingly
common in the region.
Last month,
President Bush called on Congress to authorize an additional
$30 billion to fight AIDS in Africa, a figure that would
double the U.S. commitment to the continent. The
current program, which provided $15 billion for five
years, expires in 2008.
Bush's Emergency
Program for AIDS Relief has supported treatment for 1.1
million people in 15 countries, he said in calling for the
program's renewal. His wife did not discuss how the
additional funds should be targeted.
The AIDS garden
and the mosquito net program have both been recipients of
U.S. funding. The U.S. government has allocated $16.7
million to antimalarial programs in Senegal this year,
and plans to continue at a similar level through 2010.
There are between
300 million and 500 million malaria cases each year in
Africa and 1 million deaths. In some African countries, the
disease accounts for up to half of all hospital
admissions.
''We just
eradicated malaria in the United States in about 1950. We
know malaria can be eradicated, and so we stand with
you as you try to eradicate malaria in Senegal,'' Mrs.
Bush said.
Still, some
international organizations have complained that the Bush
administration has only truly committed to maintaining
current funding levels at a time when the crisis is
growing.
David Bryden of
the Global AIDS Alliance lobbying group said the House
has approved more than $5.4 billion in AIDS spending next
year--a level that would about equal the
president's proposal over five years. ''If the
Congress accepts his proposal, it would be a disaster,
because the epidemic is expanding,'' Bryden said.
Still, West
Africa generally has a lower prevalence of AIDS than eastern
and southern Africa, and Senegal is often held up as an
example that the disease has not doomed the continent.
The country has
one of the lowest rates in the region. A range of reasons
have been given, including an organized education effort by
the government, a strong culture of conservative
Muslim values, a tradition of male circumcision, and
its distance from the southern African countries where
AIDS first took hold in Africa.
In Senegal, the
AIDS debate often takes a backseat to more pressing
questions of poverty and joblessness. The former French
colony is one of the world's poorest countries, and
thousands of its young men risk their lives annually
on fishing boats bound for Europe. (AP)