SECRETARY-GENERAL WELCOMES UNITED STATES COMMITMENT OF $1 BILLION

TO FIGHT MALARIA IN AFRICA

The following statement was issued today by the Spokesman for UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan:

The Secretary-General welcomes President Bush’s announcement of the United States’ commitment of more than 1 billion dollars over the next five years to fund the prevention and treatment of malaria in Africa.  The Secretary-General notes that this will provide much needed impetus in fighting this deadly disease, which claims the life of a child every 30 seconds.

The Secretary-General believes the announcement represents an important step in the commitment of developed countries to providing the resources necessary to reach the Millennium Development Goals, as he hopes will be demonstrated at the Group of Eight meeting in Gleneagles next week and at the World Summit in New York in September.

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