U.S. President George W. Bush says religious-based charities have made
a "remarkable" difference in the lives of needy people in the United
States and Africa during his presidency. VOA's Kent Klein reports from
Washington.
President Bush used his weekly radio address Saturday to promote his administration's partnership with faith-based groups.
The
president said that in the United States, religious charities have
helped reduce homelessness, matched children of prisoners with adult
mentors, and helped thousands of former prisoners to find jobs.
Mr.
Bush says American faith-based charities have also been very helpful
outside the United States, especially in fighting malaria in Africa.
"In
just over two years, this effort has reached more than 25 million
people," he said. "And according to new data, malaria rates are
dropping dramatically in many parts of that continent."
Mr. Bush says the charity groups have also provided vital support for his effort to fight AIDS in Africa.
"When
we launched this program in 2003, about 50,000 people in sub-Saharan
Africa were receiving anti-retroviral treatment for HIV/ AIDS. Today,
that number is nearly 1.7 million," he added.
When he became
President, Mr. Bush lifted previous restrictions that blocked
faith-based charities from receiving government help.
The
Democratic Party response to the president's radio talk addressed an
entirely different issue: fuel prices and energy policy. New Mexico
state Governor and former U.S. energy secretary Bill Richardson
promoted Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama's ideas for
increasing U.S. energy independence and criticized those of Republican
candidate John McCain.
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