Pretoria — Top United States health officials are planning a trip to South Africa, during which they will highlight America's Partnership with Africa on health.

The Secretary of Health and Human Services, Mike Leavitt, and a group of senior U.S. government leaders will make an official visit to South Africa between 19 and 21 August for this purpose.

"On behalf of the American people, the President has made unprecedented commitments to fight HIV/Aids and other major health threats in Africa," Secretary Leavitt said.

"The Emergency Plan for Aids Relief and the President's Malaria Initiative has helped bring hope to millions of people in Africa over the last three years.

"I am excited to visit these important programs to see, first-hand, how these programs are working in communities to improve lives."

The American Embassy in Pretoria on Friday said Secretary Leavitt will examine the integration of biomedical research with on-going HIV-prevention, care and treatment programs serving communities across the country.

The Secretary will also travel to Mozambique, Tanzania and Rwanda on a 10-day trip, visiting U.S. government programs delivering life-saving health care and sustenance to underserved communities.

In South Africa, Secretary Leavitt will visit communities receiving funding through the President's Emergency Plan for Aids Relief (PEPFAR).

He will meet with government and civil-society leaders, including from faith-based organisations, and visit urban hospitals, rural health clinics, programs for orphans, and academic institutions.

The site visits will reinforce partnerships with host-country organizations, and allow Secretary Leavitt to assess the impact of U.S. government-sponsored programs in Africa.

The visit highlights President Bush's call to Congress to double the initial funding of the President's Emergency Plan for Aids Relief (PEPFAR).

Secretary Leavitt's trip follows the recent HHS Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announcement of the 50th and 51st Aids drugs authorized by FDA in association with the PEPFAR program.

This authorisation is part of the President's five-year, $15 billion effort to fight the HIV and Aids epidemic in 15 countries in Southeast Asia, the Caribbean and Africa, including the four nations the Secretary will visit.

Through the PEPFAR program, the U.S. government is now supporting treatment for 1.1 million people worldwide, with more than a million of them in Africa.

PEPFAR is part of America's larger commitment to health and hope around the world.