Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson traveled to Africa on Sunday, hoping to strengthen partnerships and develop strategies to combat the AIDS and TB epidemics on the continent. This is Thompson's first official visit to Africa, where he will travel to Mozambique, Botswana and Ivory Coast.

"The scourge of AIDS threatens to destroy economies, social systems and the very fabric of local communities," Thompson said. "There is no question that as a country, the United States must engage with other nations across all sectors to fight the most devastating public health pandemics of the modern age."

Thompson will lead a team of White House officials as they tour facilities that offer counseling, testing and prevention services. He will meet with each country's top-ranking health officials to discuss new ways to fight disease. Of special interest to Thompson is the possibility of developing disease surveillance systems that would use databases to help analyze regional outbreaks.

"I plan to get a firsthand look at how infectious diseases are affecting children, families, individuals and local communities in Africa," Thompson said. While in Africa, Thompson will name health official F. Gray Handley as the first US health attaché in Africa. Handley will be based in the US Embassy in Pretoria. Thompson will also sign off on an agreement to expand the American Center for International Labor Solidarity in South Africa to help strengthen the ability of trade unions to implement AIDS prevention and education.

The Bush administration has faced continued criticism that it is giving too little to fight AIDS in Africa and around the world. Bush is asking for just under $900 million for the worldwide AIDS fight, including $200 million for the new Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria.

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