Africa -- We begin today in the United States where President Bush has made the move to prioritize the HIV/AIDS pandemic in Africa. Bush proposed in his State of the Union speech this week a 15-billion dollar Emergency Plan to alleviate the situation. Ken Casey of . World Vision believes this could be crucial in getting Americans involved. "Getting involved starts with presidential leadership and I think he expressed that. Now the next challenge is for congress to follow up and approve the proposals that he sends to them. But, it was a great step forward and on the order of magnitude that the U-S ought to be dealing with in terms of this crisis." World vision sees it as primary and is already working with the local church. "A part of our strategy is really helping to equip the local churches become the caregivers in their communities. They actually have much more man power and much more reach than World Vision does, and if we can help equip them to provide the care and support that's needed in the communities then it can go a lot further."

Africa -- Meanwhile, Baptist World Aid, the relief and development arm of Baptist World Alliance, is also pleased with the president's plan to help in the AIDS crisis. Agency Director Paul Montecute says that this could add additional resources to their AIDS education and assistance programs. Almost 30-million people in Africa have the AIDS virus, which includes three million children under the age of 15. Pray that they'll be effective in reaching the lost in time of crisis.

By Mike Moon