Washington
(ANI):
U2"s
lead
singer
Bono
has
given
credit
to
former
President
George
W.
Bush
and
the
massive
US
funding
started
in
2003,
for
helping
to
bringing
about
a
drop
in
HIV
infections.
Specialists
in
the
field
and
AIDS
activists
alike,
agree
that
the
funding
has
done
a
world
of
good
in
sub-Saharan
Africa,
where
efforts
on
raising
awareness
and
relief
is
credited
with
saving
5
million
lives.
In
an
interview
with
Bono
and
Bush
at
the
latter"s
Dallas,
Texas,
office,
the
singer
spoke
of
how
the
former
president
took
charge
of
the
issue.
“Even
people
who
are
snide
and
snarky
about
the
United
States
of
America
have
to
admit
that
millions
and
millions
of
lives
have
been
saved
by
American
taxpayers," Fox
News
quoted
Bono
as
saying.
“Being
effective
was
the
thing
we
had
to
prove
that
there
could
be
measurable
results.
That
if
American
taxpayers
were
going
to
fork
out
for
this
historic
AIDS
initiative
that
somebody
like
me
could
come
back
years
later,
which
I
have,
and
say,
America,
you"re
saving
5
million
lives.
It"s
an
extraordinary
thing
that
you
have
done,"
he
added.
The
president"s
Emergency
Plan
for
AIDS
Relief
(PEPFAR)
was
launched
in
2003,
with
15
billion
dollars
pledged
over
a
five-year
period.