President Bush: Africa's Best Friend
Love him or hate him, you must agree that President George W. Bush's policies to help Africa have been some of the best of any American President in history.
The President has poured billions of dollars (that's BILLIONS of dollars) in to programs to fight AIDS/HIV and malaria. In fact, 15 African countries say they have cut their malaria rates in half! Aid activists and government officials alike agree that the Bush administration has probably saved millions of African lives.
Martin Plaut of the BBC has written a very thoughtful article on Bush's friendship with Africa. It is well worth the time to read it. (Click here to read) It quotes a Senior Fellow at the Center for Global Development in Washington as saying...
"I don't think it's too strong to say that President Bush's African policy is the most distinguished foreign policy legacy of the administration. Although few expected such interest eight years ago, the president has clearly been deeply and personally committed to strengthening US-Africa relations."
Beyond this, the Bush administration was one of the first in the world to call the atrocities in Darfur "genocide." The administration also pushed for the North-South peace agreement in Sudan, ending the continent's longest running war.
I know many Africans are looking forward to an Obama presidency (many have personally told me so), but I am not sure he will be as generous as President Bush. Even with Obama's ties to the continent, I would think he would cut spending to Africa to look after more people at home in the States, especially given the weak economy. I am not sure if any President will be as generous as President Bush has been these eight years.
I hope and pray President-elect Obama proves me wrong.
To add more context, take a look at my previous posts about Bush and Obama: