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 ARUSHA, Tanzania (AP) - President Bush was swept up in an outpouring of affection Monday in Tanzania's rural north, where tens of thousands lined the road to see him, one woman burst into a dance of joy just from a hug and fierce-looking Maasai warriors leapt and chanted in his honor.
Midway through a trek through five African nations that have benefited from U.S. largesse, Bush spent the day in Mount Kilamanjaro's massive shadow to reinforce the strides being made with his malaria program. During stops at both a rural health complex and on a gleaming factory floor, Bush showcased real-life benefits of the U.S.-led fight against the mosquito-borne disease that kills a million young children each year in impoverished tropical countries.
The president launched a five-year, $1.2 billion plan in 2005 to cut malaria deaths in half in the hardest-hit countries, most of them in sub-Saharan Africa. It leverages private sector support to provide indoor spraying, cutting-edge drugs and vouchers for a 75 percent discount off the purchase of insecticide-treated bed nets. Congress so far has put $425 million into the plan and Bush says it has reached 25 million people in two years.
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