George Bush – World AIDS Day – December 1, 2005

Since our own State Department decided not to observe it this year, December 1st is World AIDS Day – and this day in 2005 it was observed and spoken about and had some light shed on it, unlike World AIDS Day 2025.

Here is the text of the printed excerpt of that address delivered from the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on December 1, 2005.

President Bush: “Thank you all. How about my line of work, where you get introduced by your wife? (Laughter.) And I’m glad I got introduced by Laura, because she deeply cares about the issue of HIV/AIDS. She’s a great First Lady with a compassionate heart. In her travels, she’s carried a message of hope for the suffering — and a message that the empowerment of women is essential to the prevention of AIDS. I thank you for your introduction. More importantly, I thank you for your love.

I want to thank you all for coming, and for joining the government, and more importantly, the armies of compassion in challenging — in the challenge of fighting AIDS. I want to thank Secretary Rice for being here, Secretary of State. The Secretary of Defense is with us, Secretary Rumsfeld. Carlos Gutierrez, Secretary of Commerce; Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao; Mike Leavitt, who is the Secretary of Health and Human Services; USAID Director Andrew Natsios is with us.

Ambassador Randy Tobias, who is the U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator, and has done a heck of a job. Thank you for being here. (Applause.) CDC Director Dr. Julie Gerberding; Tony Fauci is with us as well; Elias Zerhouni of the NIH — thank you all for being here. Thanks for being — making sure the scientific community stays on the leading edge of research to help save lives.

I appreciate the Peace Corps Director Gaddi Vasquez for joining us. I’m proud that two United States Senators have taken time out of their busy schedules to join us — Senator Dick Lugar and Senator Mike Enzi. Thank you all for being here. It means a lot. (Applause.)

Finally, I want to thank the diplomatic corps for joining us. You’re going to hear a strong message of support, and I know you’ll relay this message back to your governments, along with a message that in order to deal with HIV/AIDS we must confront it honestly. We’re glad you’re here, your Excellencies. Thank you for joining us.

Today, with people around the world, not just here in America, but all around the world, 40 million — we turn our thoughts to the more than 40 million men, women, and children who are living with HIV. That’s what World AIDS Day is all about. And on World AIDS Day, we renew our commitment to turn the tide against this disease.

HIV/AIDS is a global health crisis — it is also a daily burden for many of our families and neighbors and friends. Across Africa, this pandemic threatens the stability and the future of whole societies. In Asia, HIV/AIDS is a challenge that grows daily and must be confronted directly. Here in the United States, over a million of our citizens face this chronic condition. At the start of this century, AIDS causes suffering from remote villages of Africa to the heart of America’s big cities. This danger is multiplied by indifference and complacency. This danger will be overcome by compassion, honesty, and decisive action.

I believe America has a unique ability, and a special calling, to fight this disease. We are blessed with great scientific knowledge. We’re a generous country that has always reached out to feed the hungry, and rescue captives, and care for the sick. We are guided by the conviction of our founding — that the Author of Life has endowed every life with matchless value.

Here in America, some of our fellow citizens have now lived 15 years or more with HIV/AIDS. The federal government provides more than $17 billion a year to help people in America living with HIV/AIDS — including funding that brings life-saving drugs and treatment to hundreds of thousands of low-income Americans. With the help of medicine, and their own daily courage, many people are managing a condition that was once uniformly fatal — and proving that HIV/AIDS is a long-term illness like heart disease or diabetes.

Yet America still sees an estimated 40,000 new infections each year. This is not inevitable — and it’s not acceptable. HIV/AIDS remains a special concern in the gay community, which has effectively fought this disease for decades through education and prevention. And the demographics of this disease continue to change. AIDS is increasingly found among women and minorities. Nearly half of the new infections are found in the African-American community.

We’re determined to make voluntary HIV testing a routine part of health care in America — so people can know the truth about their status, tell others, and get the treatment they need. We’re determined to end mother-to-child transmission of HIV in America — because medicine makes it possible, and conscience demands it. We’re determined to improve care for minorities and citizens in the greatest need, and so I urge the Congress to reauthorize the Ryan White Care Act. (Applause.)

Our concern about HIV/AIDS does not stop at our borders. Other nations face greater challenges, yet they are moving forward with courage and determination that inspires our respect, and deserves our support. Nations like Uganda and Kenya have demonstrated that leadership and honesty can overcome stigma and reduce rates of infection. Nations like Botswana and Namibia have shown that anti-retroviral treatments can be widely delivered and highly successful. These countries, and many others, are fighting for the lives of their citizens — and America is now their strongest partner in that fight, and we’re proud to be so.

We’re supporting our partners through the Global Fund, which is helping nations purchase medicines and treat tuberculosis, the deadly infection that often accompanies AIDS.

We are also supporting our partners through the Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, the largest initiative in history to combat a specific disease. This effort is designed to support and strengthen the AIDS-fighting strategies of many nations, including 15 heavily afflicted nations in Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean. In May 2003, we committed $15 billion over five years to meet specific goals: to support treatment for 2 million people; support prevention for 7 million people; support care for 10 million people.

We’re working with our partners to provide treatment because the lives of people already infected should never be written off, because the best way to help a child in need is to help their parents live, and because people who know they can be treated are more likely to seek testing. We’re working with our partners to expand prevention efforts that emphasize abstinence, being faithful in marriage, and using condoms correctly. This strategy — pioneered by Africans — has proven its effectiveness, and America stands behind the ABC approach to prevention. (Applause.)

And we’re working with our partners to expand compassionate care — especially for the millions of children made orphans by this cruel disease.”

Here is that complete address as it was given on December 1, 2005.