Nairobi/Dar es Salaam, Tanzania - After visiting a hospital in Tanzania's Meru district President George W Bush on Monday promised US aid to fight Malaria in Africa and said his country would supply 5.2 million mosquito nets within the next six months. "The suffering caused by malaria is needless and every death caused by malaria is unacceptable," Bush said.
The US president stressed the progress made by the Tanzanian government in a far-reaching Malaria prevention campaign.
The number of deaths have fallen significantly since mosquito nets were distributed to children and insecticides have been used in places such as Zanzibar.
Bush said the campaign, which is part of a larger US initiative against malaria started in 2005, was a compassionate and practical way of saving lives.
Malaria is the main cause of death in African children. According to the United Nations, every 30 seconds a child dies from the illness transmitted by mosquitos.
The fight against Malaria, HIV/AIDS and poverty is the focus of Bush's Africa trip, which until Thursday covers Benin, Tanzania, Rwanda, Ghana and Liberia.
