Bush Pushes Abstinence in AIDS Program

In Tanzania, president prods Congress to renew global aid pact
By Wesley Oliver,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 17, 2008 1:21 PM CST
Bush Pushes Abstinence in AIDS Program
President Bush walks through a ceremonial arrival cordon with Tanzanian President Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete at the State House in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, Sunday, Feb. 17, 2008. Bush, targeting disease and poverty in travels across the African continent, touted a soft-power agenda Sunday in Tanzania where...   (Associated Press)

President Bush urged Congress today to “stop squabbling” and renew his global AIDS program, which provides medication and treatment for millions and earmarks funds for abstinence efforts. In Tanzania, his African tour’s second stop, Bush signed a $700 million aid package, saying, “We don’t want people guessing on the continent of Africa whether the generosity of the American people will continue.”

Seeking to remove abstinence-until-marriage provisions, some Democrats have stalled the renewal, the AP reports. Despite low US approval ratings, Bush was feted by Tanzanians, and their president said, "If this program is discontinued or disrupted, there will be so many people who will lose hope." (More George W. Bush stories.)

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