US triples AIDS, malaria, TB funds for poorest countries

0 Comments | AFP, July, 2008

WASHINGTON (AFP) — US President George W. Bush on Wednesday signed legislation tripling funds to fight the killer diseases of AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis in the world's poorest countries, mainly in Africa.

Congress approved a package earlier this month which lifted funding for the five-year program from 15 billion dollars, set in 2003, to the 48 billion dollars signed into law by Bush.

The US president had called during a trip to Africa in February for Congress to double funding for the program to 30 billion dollars, but the final sum was much larger.

The White House said the legislation -- the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) -- was "the largest commitment by any nation to combat a single disease in human history."

"When the...