Washington, DC — America's commitment to education and combating disease will improve the future for millions of children in Africa -- many of whom have the same concerns and needs as children worldwide -- first lady Laura Bush told a Washington foreign affairs audience September 13.

In a speech to the Heritage Foundation after her recent trip to Africa, Mrs. Bush stressed President Bush's commitment to fighting HIV/AIDS worldwide and especially in Africa. (See related article.)

"In 2003, President Bush announced a five-year, $15 billion plan to fight AIDS in the most afflicted nations. The President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief -- or PEPFAR -- supports care and treatment for people affected by HIV, and funds efforts to prevent further transmission of the disease," she told her audience.

Speaking about education, the first lady noted that President Bush's African Education Initiative provides students with school supplies, scholarships and books. "The President has proposed new funding that over the next four years will train 500,000 schoolteachers and administrators in Africa. And it will make available 300,000 scholarships for African girls to attend school through the Ambassador's Girls Scholarship Program," she said.

For more information, see U.S. Aid to Africa and AIDS in Africa.

Following are excerpts of the first lady's speech:

THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the First Lady

September 13, 2005

REMARKS BY THE FIRST LADY

TO THE HERITAGE FOUNDATION

Washington, D.C.

â-oeOne lesson I've learned during my travels here and around the world is how similar children are across borders. All children want an adult in their lives. And children want to learn. Yet opportunities for school are scarce in many places around the globe. UNESCO reports that more than 100 million school-age children worldwide do not attend school. In some developing nations, schools have been devastated by war or ethnic violence. In many countries, particularly in Africa, the HIV/AIDS crisis has decimated the teaching profession.

President Bush's African Education Initiative provides students with school supplies, scholarships, and books. The President has proposed new funding that over the next four years will train 500,000 schoolteachers and administrators in Africa. And it will make available 300,000 scholarships for African girls to attend school through the Ambassador's Girls Scholarship Program.

In Rwanda, 29 girls at the FAWE School receive scholarships from the United States. These girls can concentrate on their studies in a safe and supportive boarding school environment. They have dreams of becoming doctors and lawyers and scientists. One girl told me she wanted to be pilot because she said she's never seen a female pilot in Rwanda.

The girls who attend FAWE were small children when the Rwandan genocide devastated their country. Many lost one or both parents. Some girls have lost one parent to war and another to AIDS. These horrific events have left deep impressions. I met with the senior class where each of the girls told me a little bit about herself. At the end, the principal asked them if there was any -- if they had any questions for me, and the very first question that a girl asked was, how did the United States heal after the Civil War? Just ten years removed from the genocide, Rwanda's children are trying to heal. And they're beginning to think about their own nation's future. And they're looking to the United States for guidance.

Educated girls are better able to handle any challenges in their lives, including violence and disease. In societies where girls aren't educated, men hold most of the power. Economic power can equate with sexual power, with devastating circumstances. Violence against women and the spread of HIV/AIDS are linked. When girls are educated, they're better able to negotiate their own sexual lives. They have more of a chance to abstain from sex or to make their partner use a condom.

The United States is helping the people of Africa combat AIDS. In 2003, President Bush announced a five-year; $15 billion plan to fight AIDS in the most afflicted nations. The President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief -- or PEPFAR -- supports care and treatment for people affected by HIV, and funds efforts to prevent further transmission of the disease.

The people of Africa actually know what PEPFAR is. In more than one case, I was told by the Rwandan Minister of AIDS that people out in the bush say, thank President Bush. Now I'm well, I feel good now because of the anti-retrovirals they're on.

But I visited a great program in Cape Town, South Africa called Mothers to Mothers-to-be. Women who are pregnant and HIV-positive get drug therapies to prevent transmission of the disease to their children. And as they graduate from the program, many are hired to be trainers themselves and to mentor the next group of mothers. Micro-enterprises are funded so that women can earn some money making small items like belts and lanyards so that they can become self-sustaining and less reliant on their partners.

PEPFAR is supporting the expansion of the Mothers to Mothers-to-be model into other parts of South Africa. And each mother who celebrates the news that her baby is HIV-free knows that PEPFAR and the American people have made that possible.

This week in New York, at the United Nations General Assembly, I'll speak to the Organization of African First Ladies against HIV/AIDS, and also to a group of public and private sector leaders involved in the fight against malaria. I'll discuss America's efforts to expand access to education, and to fight AIDS and malaria. And I'll assure people that the United States is committed to working in partnership with African nations.

America's commitment to education and to combating disease will improve the future for millions of children in Africa. And by helping young people in America form relationships with caring adults, we can help them find a source of support and guidance that can stay with them throughout their lives.

Your contributions, through research, policy studies, community involvement, and conversations like the ones that you'll be having today are vital to our efforts.

Thank you for inviting me to speak with you this morning. And best wishes for a very productive and enjoyable Founder's Meeting. Thank you all very, very much.