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Pride in Obama Aside, Tanzanians Praise Bush
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Bush launched PEPFAR in 2003 with $15 billion over five years, the largest investment to fight a single disease in history, and now wants to spend $30 billion over the next five years. Congress supports the program, but reauthorization has been bogged down by grievances over specific aspects, chief among them a requirement that one-third of money spent on prevention go to teaching abstinence until marriage.
Bush defended the program, citing the program's defining philosophy as ABC -- "abstinence, be faithful and condoms." Although abstinence is part of it, he said it is not the only priority. "It is a balanced program," he said.
Tanzania is one of the biggest beneficiaries of PEPFAR. By the end of the year, the United States will have provided $817 million to combat AIDS here. About 96,700 people are receiving anti-retroviral medication and 745,000 are receiving various kinds of care. U.S. money built two wings at Amana District Hospital, which Bush visited Sunday.
Bush and Kikwete on Sunday also signed a $698 million, five-year contract under the president's Millennium Challenge Account to rebuild roads, expand electricity generation and provide more clean water, the largest such contract since the program began. The program is intended to steer money to countries that reform themselves and fight corruption. Just a week before Bush arrived to sign the contract, Kikwete fired his prime minister, who was linked to a shady government contract.
Bush's reception here has been dramatic. Everywhere he goes, his route is lined with thousands of people. Billboards all over town bear his picture with words of thanks. Dancers at various ceremonies wear his face on sarongs.
Bush enjoys popularity in Africa that he could only dream of back home. About 82 percent of people surveyed in Ivory Coast, 72 percent in Kenya and 69 percent in Ghana express confidence that he does the right thing in world affairs, according to the Pew Global Attitudes Project.
By comparison, just 40 percent of Tanzanians expressed confidence in him, according to the polling. But that was still higher than in any Arab, Asian, Latin American or European country surveyed, including longtime U.S. allies such as Britain, France and Germany.
Kikwete left little doubt where he stands. "Different people may have different views about you and your administration and your legacy," he told Bush. "But we in Tanzania, if we are to speak for ourselves and for Africa, we know for sure that you, Mr. President, and your administration, have been good friends of our country and have been good friends of Africa."
No matter who may come next.
