It’s hard to find any good deeds anyone can point out that President Bush has done throughout his presidency, but one that many seem to overlook is how much Bush has helped save millions of lives in Africa by funding some controversial, but effective medical aid for those with H.I.V. and AIDS. This has always been something I had to tell people about beause in most cases they were not aware. I never liked Bush as a president, and I never voted for him or any Republican in my life, but I do believe it’s important to show that as a President he was not a total failure. President Bush has done more for HIV and AIDS in Africa than any other US President, and that is a fact. Show respect. After watching the video read this story from earlier last year about the Bush’s legacy in Africa. It’s really going to surprise you.

Bush AIDS Fund Credited With Saving Lives
$15 Billion Fund Made U.S. President Popular Across Africa
By JOHN HENDREN
DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania, Feb. 17, 2008

President Bush may be struggling at home, but he remains surprisingly popular here in Africa, where his face adorns everything from billboards of thanks, to women’s dresses.

U.S. President George W. Bush hands a mosquito net as part of efforts to combat malaria during a tour of Meru District Hospital in Arusha, Tanzania, Monday, Feb. 18, 2008.
(AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)The main reason for his popularity is that the fund to combat AIDS, which he created in 2003, has spent more than $15 billion on the continent over the past five years.

“It was incumbent upon us to help deal with this pandemic that … could have literally wiped out an entire generation of Africans,” Bush told reporters in the Tanzanian capital today.

The fund is the largest international health initiative ever to fight a single disease, and Bush wants to double that amount to $30 billion over the next five years.

“Different people may have different views about you and your administration and your legacy,” Tanzanian President Jikaya Kikwete said. “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.”

Critics want even more funding and fewer strings, like the requirement that some money go to abstinence programs. But even critics concede what is obvious to thousands of HIV-positive patients, like James Kan, a patient at a clinic in the capital — the program has saved lives.

“I would have died,” Kan said. “Yeah, that is exactly what could have happened.”
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