Update (Apr. 1): Hannah Gay talks more about her faith in a Baptist Press interview.

-----

Update (Mar. 12): Debate continues over whether the baby was actually infected vs. exposed to HIV, and thus the true significance of the treatment.

-----

The doctor who made headlines last week for apparently curing a baby girl born with AIDS began her work in pediatric HIV after observing the spread of the disease while as a missionary in Africa.

Hannah Gay, a Southern Baptist and doctor at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, is responsible for the aggressive, early treatment being heralded as a “functional cure” for a two-year-old girl who now continues to test negative for HIV.

Almost two years ago, we featured Kendall Ciesemier as one of two U.S. teen activists who had raised millions of dollars in their quests to join the fight against HIV/AIDS and poverty in Africa.

Ciesemier's work had caught the eye of Oprah Winfrey and Bill Clinton, and now it's got the attention of the readers of Glamour magazine, who voted Ciesemier their Readers' Choice winner in the publication's annual Women of Year issue. The brief article notes that Kendall's organization, Kids Caring 4 Kids, has raised over $840,000, funding a girls’ dormitory in Kenya and meals for AIDS patients and orphans in Zambia. She has a goal of raising $1 million before she heads to college next fall.

Saddleback pastor Rick Warren has denounced the proposed legislation in Uganda that would execute homosexuals who are infected with HIV, a law Warren says "I had nothing to do with, completely oppose and vigorously condemn."

Several media outlets have connected Warren to the bill because of his work combating AIDS, partnering with a pastor named Martin Ssempa. He responds in what he calls an "encyclical video."

"As a pastor, I’ve found the most effective way to build consensus for social change is usually through direct quiet diplomacy and behind-the-scenes dialogue, rather than through media. But because I didn’t rush to make a public statement, some erroneously concluded that I supported this terrible bill, and some even claimed I was a sponsor of the bill," Warren said in a statement. "You in Uganda know that is untrue."

A tweet from Warren earlier today suggests he had been working to kill the bill. "DThanks Bob! It seem our quiet effort helped kill part of the Uganda b so it was worth being misjudged, but our job isnt done yet."

On December 4, Warren had tweeted, "DJoe,I feel no need to tell reporters &bloggers what I've done behind the scenes on this.They never admit their misreporting anyway.Pr.15:12"

Bloomberg is reporting that Uganda will drop the death penalty and life imprisonment for gays in a refined version of the bill.

The Ugandan government supports the bill because homosexuality and lesbianism are “repugnant to the Ugandan culture,” Buturo said. Still, it favors a more refined set of punishments, he said.

In addition to formulating punishments for the gay people, the bill will also promote counseling to help “attract errant people to acceptable sexual orientation,” said Buturo.

The Daily Monitor reports that at least 200 clerics from the Inter-religious Council of Uganda, which includes Bishops from the Catholic, Anglican, Orthodox, Seventh Day Adventist, and Muslim leaders agreed to defend the bill.

The Secretary General of IRC, Mr Joshua Kitakule told Daily Monitor that development partners should not interfere in the process of legislation in Uganda.

“Those countries should respect our spiritual values. They shouldn’t interfere,” he said. “All senior religious leaders have been given copies of the Bill to read and educate people in the churches and mosques,” he added.

Grove City psychology professor Warren Throckmorton has been covering this bill for several months. Throckmorton has set up a Facebook group titled "Speak out against Uganda's Anti-Homosexuality Bill 2009," which has almost 10,000 members. In October, he received a statement from Warren about his connection to Ssempa.

Martin Ssempa does not represent me, my wife Kay, Saddleback Church, nor the Global PEACE Plan strategy. In 2007, we completely severed contact with Mr. Ssempa when we learned that his views and actions were in serious conflict with our own. Our role, and the role of the PEACE Plan, whether in Uganda or any other country, is always pastoral and never political. We vigorously oppose anything that hinders the goals of the PEACE Plan: Promoting reconciliation, Equipping ethical leaders, Assisting the poor, Caring for the sick, and Educating the next generation.

This week, Pope Benedict has been visiting Africa. No surprise when on the plane down to Cameroon, the pope fielded a few questions from the working press traveling with him. According to the Vatican News Service, here's what he had to say about condoms and HIV/AIDS:

Answering a question on the Catholic Church's approach to HIV/AIDS, considered by some as unrealistic and ineffective, the Pope said: "It is my belief believe that the most effective presence on the front in the battle against HIV/AIDS is in fact the Catholic Church and her institutions. ... The problem of HIV/AIDS cannot be overcome with mere slogans. If the soul is lacking, if Africans do not help one another, the scourge cannot be resolved by distributing condoms; quite the contrary, we risk worsening the problem. The solution can only come through a twofold commitment: firstly, the humanisation of sexuality, in other words a spiritual and human renewal bringing a new way of behaving towards one another; and secondly, true friendship, above all with the suffering, a readiness - even through personal sacrifice - to stand by those who suffer".

In a matter of hours, the HIV/AIDS establishment took out the heavy artillery against the pope's words, even as they misinterpreted his comments. Here's one example from the Voice of America:

French Foreign Ministry Spokesman Eric Chevallier voiced sharp concern over the consequences of the pope's comments, telling reporters that while it is not up to the French government to pass judgment on church doctrine, Paris believes such comments are a threat to public health policies and the duty to protect human life. Vatican Spokesman Federico Lombardi is defending the church's approach to AIDS. He says Pope Benedict is putting the emphasis on education. Lombardi told reporters in Yaounde that developing an ideology of confidence in condoms is not correct because it fails to focus on personal responsibility.

OK. Who's got the greater hold on the truth of this situation about condoms and fighting the spread of HIV? I've been following the HIV and the church story since 1994. So here are my five reasons why condoms are part of the problem:

1. People who have lots of sex with lots of partners do not use condoms consistently every single time.

Updated: Tuesday, Dec. 2, 5 p.m., CST

Inside a theater at the Newseum on Pennsylvania Avenue between the White House and Capitol Hill, Saddleback pastor Rick Warren praised President Bush for his commitment to fighting HIV/AIDS, malaria, and TB.

Eight years ago, who could have imagined that George W. Bush would receive such an award? Bush is now inside his final 50 days as president. This particular event didn't make the front page of the New York Times. In fact, the 20th anniversary of World AIDS Day also didn't make many front pages around the country.

How is this possible when there are about 40 million people with the virus and the daily death toll is around 8,000 per day? If this daily carnage happened in one day in a single major metro area, of course, there would be wall to wall coverage, 24/7. (Maybe we need to re-label the virus as a terrorist plot.) A few years ago, when I last sat down to figure out the daily death toll, it was about 5,300 per day.

Bottom line: We are still losing this war against HIV even though it is no small miracle that the taxpayer-funded program, PEPFAR, has now surpassed the goal of having 2 million people on AIDS-fighting drugs. This new reality saves lives, reducing the number of orphans and helps build up the health care infrastructure.

The Monday celebration in Washington started with a period and ended with a question mark. The period is the 20-year period of time since the first World AIDS Day in 1988. Yes, the achievements in treatment, care, and prevention are historic and important. The level of cooperation between groups has rarely been higher. HIV activist David Miller now knows Jesus.

These are all really significant things.

The question mark is this: What will the Obama administration do? Well for the moment, we do have many encouraging words from world leaders, including UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon in support of the PEPFAR strategy.

But Obama in his own statement leaves us with this question from the Apostle Paul:

"If the trumpet does not sound a clear call, who will get ready for battle?" President-elect Obama clearly calls for a commitment to "confront and defeat this disease once and for all."

Wonderful. But disease prevention must be front and center and that's where the tug of war over human sexual behavior and traditional morality is taking place. And, that's not over by a long shot.

Hu Jia, who was among those named in our map of pre-Olympic arrests in China, was awarded the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought.

The European Parliament gives out the prestigious annual award. Their press release says:

Hu Jia is a prominent human rights activist and dissident in the People's Republic of China. He has embraced a wide range of causes, including environmental issues, HIV/AIDS advocacy and a call for an official enquiry into the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre. He has also acted as a coordinator of the 'barefoot lawyers movement'.

Having already been arrested several times, he spoke to MEPs in November 2007 from house arrest via conference call during a public meeting of the EP Human Rights Subcommittee on human rights in China in the run-up to the Olympic Games. As a result he was charged by the authorities with "inciting subversion of state power" and sentenced on 3 April 2008 to three-and-a-half years in jail.

The prize puts China - which is reportedly pretty steamed - in the awkward position of having an internationally recognized lawyer in prison.

The U.S. State Department and other organizations are demanding Hu's release: "We are deeply concerned about the imprisonment of human rights activist Hu Jia and have pressed the Chinese authorities for his immediate release on many occasions and at the highest level," State Department spokesman Gordon Duguid told The Age.

Although the European Parliament statement, the Wikipedia page, and reports by The New York Times, BBC, and others don't mention it, Hu is a Christian and one of many Christian human rights activists fighting for human rights in China.

* * *

While one source listed Hu Jia as a Christian, he is a Buddhist, according to China Aid and others. My apologies.

This afternoon, the Senate finally voted on the so-called PEPFAR reauthorization bill.

The Associated Press reports:

The Senate has approved spending $48 billion over the next five years to treat and prevent the spread of AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria in Africa and elsewhere around the world.

The legislation more than triples the current $15 billion program that has brought lifesaving drugs to some 1.7 million people with HIV/AIDS.

The bill passed by a vote of 80-16. That sets up negotiations with the House on a final compromise. President Bush has been a strong advocate for the global AIDS program.

Also, I received in my email inbox, this news release from the Global AIDS Alliance:

Washington, July 16 -- Today the US Senate passed a crucial bill, backed by President Bush, that reauthorizes the US program on global HIV/AIDS while also authorizing much greater funding for programs to address tuberculosis and malaria.

"The bill is a tremendous achievement, and I commend Senators Biden and
Lugar, who authored the bill, and Senator Reid whose determination to
bring the bill forward was indispensable," said Dr. Paul Zeitz,
Executive Director of the Global AIDS Alliance.

"The amount per year, about $10 billion, is less than 1 percent of this
year's federal budget, and thas is a small price to pay for a program
that will save millions of lives and foster good will around the world,"
said Zeitz.

The bill, S. 2731, was approved by the Foreign Relations Committee in
March and was endorsed by both Senators Obama and McCain, but it was
then stalled by several Republican legislators. Today several hostile
amendments were defeated, and the bill was approved 80 to 16. The House
appears ready to approve the Senate version.

"Myths and disinformation were used by Senators Kyl, Bunning, DeMint and
others to try to undermine this bill, but in the end the truth won out,"
noted Zeitz. "This bill will expand American leadership on global
health and foster hope around the world. Once fully funded, it will not
only help poor countries but serve America's interests as well."

The bill lays out a five-year strategy for confronting AIDS, TB and
malaria, while authorizing, though not actually providing, a total
funding level of $48 billion for global health programs. The bill also
lays out a policy framework on such closely related issues as gender,
care for orphaned children, nutrition, and health care worker shortages.

This story will hit the front pages of newspapers tomorrow. Watch for an update soon.

Breaking news, Wednesday, July 9, on HIV legislation stalled in the US Senate for weeks. A source in Washington emailed me this afternoon, saying:

A few minutes ago [Senate leader] Reid brought it [PEPFAR reauthorization] to the Senate floor...He said he had 17 signatures on a petition in favor of the bill. He sounded very determined and insistent and fed up with the delays. Then [Senator] Kyl objected, so Reid has filed for cloture, which will be voted on Friday morning. We are very disapponted at Kyl's action. Every day, AIDS kills about 6000 people and infects another 7000, so delay is the last thing we need. Kyl's delays have hurt President Bush's leadership at the G8 Summit.

What does this mean?

Jon Kyl, the junior senator from Arizona, pretty much has sterling conservative credentials and a "solidly conservative voting record" in the words of the Almanac of American Politics. So what is his beef with the reauthorization of PEPFAR, perhaps the most relatively untarnished legacy program of the Bush administration?

Certainly, sticker shock and mission creep are legit concerns. But here's some op-ed commentary, published in the Tuscon Citizen:

Yet despite the program's widespread support and irrefutable success, Kyl and a handful of Republicans think the price tag of $50 billion over five years is too high.
It would be one thing for legislators thing to balk at expanding a program that had not delivered its intended results, but quite another to stop one that works.
PEPFAR works. PEPFAR has been a model of humanitarian assistance for all the world to see. Some call it the greatest triumph of American foreign policy since the Marshall plan.
In these contentious legislative times, the PEPFAR debate in Washington has been an exercise in compromise, with lawmakers putting humanity above partisanship.
Both parties in Congress and the White House have put aside differences over how the money ought to be spent because they place the value and potential of this program above partisan gain.
But as long as a group of recalcitrant senators continue to block this bill, they take away an opportunity for the United States to exercise global leadership and save countless lives.
Time is running out. Sen. Kyl must see reason and clear the way for PEPFAR's reauthorization to give the president more credible talking points in Japan.

Opponents of the bill have yet to persuasively explain their objections to this legislation or put forward a reasonable way forward. Senator Kyl and others who oppose PEPFAR own an explanation on why stalling this admitted expensive (and by the way successful) program makes sense.

Time for an update on the $50 billion bill before Congress to re-authorize the PEPFAR legislation.

There is a group of conservative US Senators holding up a vote in the Senate on the reauthorization of the bill for PEPFAR, the President's Emergency Action Plan for AIDS Relief.

A June 11 piece on Politico spells out the problem for the everyday reader:

President Bush's program to fight HIV/AIDS is considered by Republicans and Democrats alike to be one of the unvarnished foreign policy successes of his presidency. So why has broad bipartisan legislation seeking to more than triple the program's funding to $50 billion caused such a rancorous fight? Ask Sen. Tom Coburn, M.D. The Oklahoma Republican, along with six other social conservatives, has put a hold on the bill in the Senate, unless a provision is added to direct most of the spending toward treatment for HIV/AIDS rather than toward prevention and other priorities. Otherwise, Coburn said, "the vast majority of the money is going to get consumed by those wanting to help people with HIV, rather than [by] people with HIV." Coburn argues that treatment of HIV/AIDS-affected individuals usually drops their viral load to the point where they will not infect other people, and thus, it's "the No. 1 prevention protocol we have."

Coburn is the junior senator from Oklahoma and one of the few MDs currently serving in Congress. As a conservative, a Southern Baptist, and a Republican, he otherwise gets good marks. For example, Family Research Council granted a 100 rating to Coburn for his 2006 vote record.

But, Coburn and others are taking lots of heat from the faith community that supports the current legislation. Some 36 organizations have signed on to a declaration to ask Senators to vote on PEPFAR and another measure to extend debt relief to the poorest nations.

One of the big reasons the political pressure is on now is that President Bush will be going to the G 8 Summit, which this summer will be in Japan. The Washington Post reported in early June that Bush hopes to pressure G 8 nations for follow through on allocating more money to fight the spread of HIV. If Congress has approved $50 billion in more spending, that might persuade other leaders that the US is in this fight for the long haul.

Actually, a growing concern is overheated, over-moralizing rhetoric. There's a new term on the net for this kind of approach. It is being called: Gersonism, after Mike Gerson, former Bush speechwriter. Read about that here.

Who's got the greater truth here, Gerson or Coburn?

In Washington this week, conservatives held a press conference on Thursday to call public attention to efforts in Congress to "radically" rewrite PEPFAR, President Bush's signature program to fight HIV/AIDS globally.

In his 2008 State of the Union, President Bush said:
"Our Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief is treating 1.4 million people. We can bring healing and hope to many more. So I ask you to maintain the principles that have changed behavior and made this program a success." Instead, the Democrats have decided to radically change or abandon the principles of this widely successful program. Their radical rewrite will pour billions into the hands of abortion providers with little or no regard for the pro-life, pro-family cultures of recipient countries. It also strips provisions that ensure priority funding for the highly effective abstinence and fidelity programs, which have reduced HIV rates in African nations that have implemented it. The Democrat proposal also strips the provision that forbids grants to groups that do not have a policy explicitly opposing prostitution and sex trafficking--a provision designed to combat exploitation of women in recipient countries.

My three children and I love to watch The Charlie Brown Christmas Special on video every December. It's hard to believe that was made in 1965. Charlie's question "Can any one tell me what Christmas is all about?" is a haunting one indeed.

That's not the only haunting question at Christmastime. Rev. Martin Ssempa, who I believe is one of Africa's most passionate church leaders in the fight against HIV/AIDS, has been published in a leading Ugandan newspaper, asking what can be done about sexual violence associated with HIV/AIDS.

Rev. Ssempa, who spoke at the first Saddleback HIV/AIDS conference, said:

This Christmas I am praying for the end of sexual violence in Africa. Last week the High Court in South Africa's Cape convicted George Mugalula who killed his five year-old stepdaughter Aakifah Salie due to marital frustrations with his wife, also Aakifah's mother, Faiza Salie. According to court documents, Mugalula was angered and tortured by his wife's many affairs and secret work as a prostitute at "Paradise Penthouse", a massage parlour in Cape Town. Apparently he thought that his wife was working in a night painterly but was shocked to discover that she was listed as one of the playgirls in Paradise Penthouse. This apparently triggered off his violent behaviour which in the end was directed at the vulnerable five year-old who bore the brunt of his traumatised love.

In some African nations, there's a persistent belief, promoted by 'traditional healers,' that sexual relations with a virgin are a cure for HIV/AIDS.

Rev. Ssempa notes:

We need the gospel to dispel the dangerously grotesque idea that sex with a virgin girl can cure HIV/AIDS. This prescription spread by African traditional healers in East and Southern Africa has multiplied sexual violence among virgin young girls and boys. There is a need to condemn this practice both by the perpetrators as well as the healers who perpetuate his dangerous idea.

Among quite a few health care leaders, there's a professional reluctance to address the false traditional belief systems that have arisen in addressing the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Traditional healers are often revered and feared figures in village life. The church has the moral authority to take on harmful beliefs and practices without demonizing the messengers.

At the end of his article, Ssempa points a way forward: Pray & Work.

This Christmas we need to pray and work for the victims of sexual violence that the peace of God will come to them. We also need to pray that the systems which entrench this evil will be broken. May the prince of peace bring a cessation of sexual violence in our land.

Merry Christmas!

Tomorrow, Dec. 1, is World AIDS Day, 2007.

Earlier this week, World Vision released a new survey that looks at the public's knowledge and opinion about HIV/AIDS in the G-7 nations -- the US, Canada, UK, France, Italy, Germany, and Japan.

World Vision held a press conference at the United Nations on Nov. 29. The organizaiton noted:

More than 25 years after HIV was discovered, one-third of the people in seven wealthy nations admit they know little or nothing about the global HIV and AIDS epidemic, and one-fourth believe the problem is "greatly exaggerated," according to a survey released today by World Vision, the international humanitarian organization.

Ironically, 80 percent of the respondents believe their governments should do much more to help children orphaned by AIDS and AIDS-related illnesses around the world, but only 44 percent are willing to pay more in taxes to help fund prevention, treatment, research and care.

"This survey reconfirms what all of us on the front lines of the AIDS battle know - leaders must put a face on the pandemic because, for people to take action, AIDS must affect them in a personal way," says Richard E. Stearns, president of World Vision, U.S. "While some of these survey results present daunting challenges, we can be encouraged with the finding that the more people know about AIDS, the more compassionate they are toward those directly affected by it."

Meanwhile on the West Coast, Saddleback church's Rick Warren and his wife Kay were hosting their Third Annual Global Summit. That ends today followed by the Youth Summit at Saddleback tomorrow (Dec. 1)

In a press statement, Pastor Warren noted:

"People are asking, 'How many people have AIDS?' ? but that is the wrong question; rather, we should be asking, 'Why should anyone have AIDS?'" Dr. Warren said. "You are God's plan to bring relief to this pandemic. There are some things in this world that I don't have hope for, but I believe in the depth of my heart that HIV/AIDS can be stopped, because it will only take one thing ? real leaders," Dr. Warren added.

Together, the Warrens outlined five traits of real leaders that parallel the objectives of the conference, to develop leadership that is aware; accumulates knowledge; are advocates and activists; and are available. Using the model of a three-legged stool, they reiterated that to end AIDS, leadership is needed in all three sectors ? public, profit and parish ? at the international, national, church, city, business and individual levels.

"When it comes to AIDS, it is not enough to just have tender feelings in your heart ? caring for people with HIV isn't enough," Kay Warren added. "We must also be activists, which involves an intentional plan in your heart for good and for change. We have a call from God to raise our voices ? do not wait for perfect conditions."

So here's the big question:

Granted a few prominent evangelicals have stepped up to the activisim plate against HIV. But I cannot cite one example when I've heard of local (non-mega) evangelical church put a Sunday-long emphasis on HIV ministry. Have you? Is HIV outreach a true priority for evangelicals, or what?

In times past, we've written about "The Bono Effect" -- how megarock star Bono launched the DATA organization a few years back and then toured America, motivating Bono-loving evangelicals (and others) to jump into the global fight against crushing debt, HIV/AIDS, global poverty, and on behalf of fairer global trade with Africa.

Initially, I'll confess I had heavy skepticism about "the Bono effect" until it was staring at me across the table inside a Wheaton restaurant in 2005. I was having lunch with an local evangelical leader whose life was transformed by his personal activism against HIV in Africa. He dated that new commitment to Bono's high-profile visit to Wheaton College. Who knew?

Now for the update:

We need to take a look at "The Laura Bush effect" and how it's having influence on US policy, the American public, and our profile overseas. It's a no-brainer that Mrs. Bush is likely to retain her high approval ratings in opinion polls for years to come.

Recent opinion polls show that her ratings are about twice that of President Bush (unless, of course, you are polling Albanians). MSNBC's Chris Matthews explored the Laura Bush model in a recent program.

This week, First Lady Laura Bush will be in the headlines, especially in the foreign press, as she makes her third trip to Africa.

She's visiting the region the experts call SSA, or sub-Saharan Africa. She and daughter Jenna are stopping in Dakar, Senegal; Maputo, Mozambique; Lusaka, Zambia; and Bamako, Mali. The trip ends on Friday.

The focus is on HIV/AIDS through PEPFAR, anti-malaria efforts through the President's Malaria Intiative, and the Millennium Challenge campaign to reduce poverty.

If you're not overly familiar with these programs, welcome to the club. The amount of news media attention around these programs can be measured by an eye-dropper.

But the reality on the ground is that real money is saving real lives in some of the most desperate parts of Africa.

During my last trip to Rwanda, I visited a remote medical clinic on the shores of the stunningly beautiful Lake Kivu. During my previous visit to that same clinic more than one year earlier, there was a building, chronically ill patients, trained medical staff, but no ARV drugs, and precious little equipment.

The clinic operated on hope and prayer.

By the time I made my second visit, the situation had changed largely due to PEPFAR, faith-based organizations, and cooperative government leaders in Africa.

This regional success story of how faith-based groups partner with the Bush administration inside Africa has been spun beyond recognition. The programs are not perfect by any means. There are lots of frustrations on both sides, insiders tell me, but people living with HIV actually do take their meds and care for their kids.

So back to square one: What is the essence of "The Laura Bush Effect"?

Let me suggest three elements:

1. "Presidential Dog Whisperer." My three kids love that dude, Cesar Millan, the Dog Whisperer. Could it be that Mrs. Bush is taking her cues from Cesar? That calm assertive stance works wonders even at the White House. Mrs. Bush's use of "soft power" on a focused agenda is impressive.

2. The Power of a Passionate Mom. There is a model that is emerging of an alpha couple who rule a nation state and govern its mood and culture by example. (JKF and Jackie were one manifestation of what I'm talking about.) This model seems particularly evident in the 2008 presidential election cycle, in which the candidates' spouses have the ability to move public opinion toward or away from a candidate.

Mrs. Bush has sharpened her public profile in recent months and the public likes what it is seeing. This trip may establish her credibility beyond 2008 as a passionate activist with a global focus.

3. First Lady as Educator in Chief. Education seems to be at the core of Mrs. Bush's competence as a leader. So not only does the public witness her engagement with educational issues, they also see a person who expresses her values.

En route to Senegal, a pool reporter shared this information about Mrs. Bush as she spoke to the news media aboard their 757 aircraft:

THE FIRST LADY TALKS:
Highlights of the first lady's talk, which lasted just under 10 minutes, standing in the aisle, speaking with reporters seated on either side toward the rear of the aircraft: (see White House transcript but these are taped remarks):

"I think we're going to have a very interesting trip. It's going to be a difficult trip, just because it's so much travel. We're going, obviously, from the west coast to the east coast and back to the west coast of Africa before we come home. And we're busy in every stop, with a lot of different programs that we want to see that both address AIDS, malaria, clean water, education. And so those will be the four focuses of this -- of the trip.

"I hope you have on your comfortable shoes,'' she said. "We'll work hard for the week.''

She said the purpose of her visit is to "let the American people know about what they're doing, through their taxpayers' money, to try to make a big difference in Africa, both in eradicating malaria, trying to reach and treat as many people as possible and avert as much infection as possible with HIV/AIDS.'' This includes a visit to a PlayPump in Zambia, a water-pump driven by children's playground equipment -- part of a project that the first lady had announced last year in conjunction with the Case Foundation, helping to pay for these pumps.

"It lets girls and boys go to school, because they're not having to spend all day walking to a water well a long way away and carrying water, sometimes contaminated water, back to their villages,'' she noted, calling this "a really fun part of the trip, to see these merry-go-rounds.''

What's the most challenging part of the trip?

"The most challenging part, really, is going to be this travel, I mean, the long distances for us to have to fly between places, and then to try to do as many things as we can possibly do in every stop... The schedule is filled, no down time, except for when we're on the plane.''

Asked about her confidence in the Senate approving the first year of the new series of global AIDS funding -- now that the House has approved the first stage of the new $30 billion commitment the president is seeking:

"Yes... I think that there is large bipartisan support for this, and that people on both sides of the aisle see it as beneficial, obviously, for the people in Africa, and the other countries -- Asia, Vietnam and Haiti that are also targeted with AIDS with PEPFAR funds.

"I think the Congress will support this for those two reasons -- first that it's an obligation, many people see it as a moral obligation for the United States because we are affluent... also as being beneficial for our country and letting people around the world know what Americans are really like.''

This is her third trip to Africa.

"This is an important piece of American foreign policy, frankly, the way we reach out to countries all over the world. Not just Africa but everywhere in the world we have very active programs going on in Central and South America, as well, and in Asia, as well.

"I think they represent not only the generosity of the American people, but also the efficiency and the accountability piece of the American government, as well, ways for us to be able to make sure our tax money is used in a way that helps the most people, that has the furthest reach, that's the most effective.''

At the White House summit on Malaria, she said, the U.N., UNESCO, UNICEF, the World Health Organization, USAID and the World Bank had all come together, she noted. The Millenium Challenge Corporation has worked with governments, too -- infrastructure, roads, water, schools.

The African governments involved are working to "try to be the most effective, to try to stretch the money the furthest so that the most people get help,'' she said. "That's also an important piece -- and another reason that I think the Congress will support this funding, because they know that we're trying to be as efficient and effective as we possibly can with this funding.''

Tomorrow, Mrs. Bush arrives in Zambia. CT correspondent Isaac Phiri will be filing a report later in the week about her time there. It's a hot zone in the war against HIV, malaria, and chronic poverty.

Watch this space for Isaac's dispatch from Lusaka.