'HIV/AIDS is killing too many people in world today.... it is critical to bring down the infection rate and get this problem under control.
I appreciate the ambassadors who have played crucial roles, from the African and Caribbean nations to West

We appreciate those who are members of the faith-based world who have answered the call, the universal call, to help a brother and sister in need. We want to thank you for being involved in the fight against AIDS. I want to thank those who have been involved in this struggle for a long period of time. We are confident that the progress that you have made to date will be progress that we can build upon and will build upon.

Confronting this tragedy is the responsibility of every nation. For the United States, it is a part of the special calling that began with our founding. We believe in the dignity of life, and this conviction determines our conduct around the world. We believe that everyone has a right to liberty, including the people of Afghanistan and Iraq. We believe that everyone has a right to life, including children in the cities and villages of Africa and the Caribbean.

Today, on the continent of Africa alone nearly 30 million people are living with HIV/AIDS, including 3 million people under the age of 15 years old. In Botswana, nearly 40 percent of the adult population -- 40 percent -- has HIV, and projected life expectancy has fallen more than 30 years due to AIDS. In seven sub-Sahara African countries, mortality for children under age five has increased by 20 to 40 percent because of AIDS.

Fighting AIDS on a global scale is a massive and complicated undertaking. Yet, this cause is rooted in the simplest of moral duties. When we see this kind of preventable suffering, when we see a plague leaving graves and orphans across a continent, we must act.