First lady Laura Bush made her third trip to Africa June 25-29, applying her personal touch to promote causes critical to the region -- causes of special concern to her and President Bush: combating the HIV/AIDS and malaria epidemics and improving the quality of education. This time she visited Senegal, Mozambique, Zambia and Mali. Her previous trips took her to Rwanda, Tanzania, South Africa, Liberia, Ghana and Nigeria. Her daughter, Jenna Bush, accompanied her, as did the State Department’s U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator Mark Dybul.

The U.S. government is the world’s largest contributor to the global fight against HIV/AIDS. American taxpayers and corporate donors fund projects to improve health, education and women’s empowerment throughout Africa. President Bush asked Congress in May to double the $15 billion, five-year commitment to fund strategic programs to combat AIDS worldwide.

In each nation, Laura Bush’s stops included schools, health care facilities and other projects funded by the President’s Emergency Plan for Aids Relief (PEPFAR), the President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI), the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and private-sector partners such as the Global Business Coalition. Funds are channeled through large nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) such as United Nations agencies and World Vision, which administer the work through a network of grassroots NGOs.