Former President George W. Bush will be making a rare visit to Washington, D.C., later this month to mark the 20th anniversary of his signature program to contain AIDS worldwide and to urge Congress to reauthorize it.
Bush, who will be accompanied by former first lady Laura Bush, will be joined on stage Feb. 24 by his former secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice, and the former president of Tanzania, Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete, for a conversation at a Bush Institute event, PEPFAR at 20, commemorating the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief. 2008. The current secretary of state, Antony Blinken, will speak virtually to honor PEPFAR's anniversary.
PEPFAR, which is overseen by the State Department, represents the largest commitment by any nation to address a single disease in the world. To date, PEPFAR funding has totaled over $100 billion. The says that PEPFAR has saved 25 million lives by providing antiretroviral treatment to some 20 million people, enabling 5.5 million babies to be born HIV-free and providing HIV testing and prevention services.
In his State of the Union address Tuesday night, President Joe Biden hailed Bush for his work on PEPFAR. "He undertook a bipartisan effort through PEPFAR to transform the global fight against H.I.V./AIDS," Mr. Biden said."It's been a huge success. He thought big, he thought large. He moved." He went on to express the hope that that what worked for PEPFAR could be replicated:"I believe we can do the same thing with cancer."
One of first lady Jill Biden's guests for the address was U2 lead singer Bono, a longtime AIDS activist who is credited with helping build support for PEPFAR, working with Democrats and Republicans in Congress and famously winning over religious conservative. The bill first passed with broad bipartisan support in 2003 and has been reauthorized three times.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Former President Accused Of Attempting Coup Calls Biden 'Most Corrupt President in American History'Trump, who is facing several investigations, delivered his pre-recorded rebuttal to Biden’s State of Union address on Tuesday
Read more »
Iraqi man accused of plotting to kill George W. Bush wants a judge not appointed by BushAn Iraqi man accused of plotting to kill former President George W. Bush for initiating the Iraq War has asked for a judge not appointed by Bush.
Read more »
Iraqi man accused of plotting to kill George W. Bush wants a judge not appointed by BushAn Iraqi man accused by federal authorities of plotting to assassinate former President George W. Bush for initiating the Iraq War asked on Tuesday for a different judge who was not appointed by Bush.
Read more »
Prosper ISD Parents Confront School Board After Former President's ArrestAmid controversy, Prosper ISD held a special meeting Tuesday to discuss how to fill a school board president vacancy.
Read more »
President Biden's State of the Union report card: Ratings from former speechwriters are inSpeechwriting experts say Biden made a good faith effort at promoting bipartisanship in his State of the Union, but did not confront the China threat as aggressively as he should have.
Read more »