In a message coinciding with the opening of the annual G8 summit this week, US President George W. Bush stressed HIV/AIDS in Africa remained a "top priority of the United States".
In a Voice of America radio broadcast Bush said: "One of the greatest causes of suffering in Africa is the spread of HIV/AIDS, which has left graves and orphans across the continent."
Quoting figures from his President's Emergency Plan for AIDS relief (PEPFAR), Bush said the number of people receiving anti-AIDS treatment in sub-Saharan Africa has risen from 50,000 in 2002 to 230,000 in January 2004.
However, Bush's statement has not gone unchallenged, with health officials in Botswana disputing the US claim of supporting nearly 33,000 HIV-positive people in the diamond-rich southern African country, saying instead that the Botswana government was responsible for this achievement.
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