President Bush has asked Congress to double U.S. spending on the global AIDS crisis to $30 billion over five years. The president spoke Wednesday from the White House.

President Bush: “This money will be spent wisely through the establishment of partnership compacts with host nations. These compacts would ensure that U.S. funds support programs that have the greatest possible impact and are sustainable for the future. America will work with governments, the private sector, and faith- and community-based organizations around the world to meet measurable goals: to support treatment for nearly 2.5 million people, to prevent more than 12 million new infections, and to support care for 12 million people, including more than five million orphans and vulnerable children.”

While the request drew praise, some advocacy groups offered criticism the U.S. is both underspending and maintaining a misdirected emphasis on abstinence education. The Health Global Access Group says the U.S. would need to spend at least $50 billion to keep a promise for universal access to treatment for HIV victims. The administration is also extending its controversial requirement that one-third of HIV-prevention spending go to promoting abstinence before marriage. Jodi Jacobson of the Centre for Health and Gender Equity said: “No amount of money will make up for the ideologically driven prevention policies now promoted by [the U.S.].”