As President George W. Bush prepares for this week’s G-8 summit in Scotland, he reiterated his pledge Wednesday of $1.2 billion to help Africa eradicate a myriad of deadly diseases, including AIDS and malaria.

"Our primary focus in Africa is going to be to focus efforts on solving people’s problems," Bush said Wednesday in Denmark prior to a meeting of the Group of Eight industrialized nations. "They’ve got a problem in HIV/AIDS, and we’re leading the world when it comes to contributions."

This week’s summit comes amid growing international calls for the world's richest nations to do more to help Africa combat poverty and encourage development.

The president’s critics argue that Bush often talks about funding ambitious initiatives, but does not follow through with the necessary funding. Experts on African affairs say Bush’s $50 million education initiative, for example, is a pittance for a continent of 800 million people, 54 countries and 3-1/2 times the size of the United States.

Bush on Wednesday said he hopes to do the following: get AIDS medication "to people who need help; help set up an infrastructure so that prevention programs begin to work; and follow up with programs that will help the orphans of HIV/AIDS families."

The president added that more than one million people each year die of malaria in Africa, most of whom are under five years old.

"This is a problem we can solve," Bush said, adding that he outlined an initiative last week calling for $1.2 billion to help eliminate deaths from malaria in Africa.

Britain, which is chairing the G-8 summit this year, has already secured agreement to wipe $40 billion in debt from 18 of the world's poorest countries -- including 14 in Africa -- on the condition that certain democratic and economic benchmarks are met. The G-8 comprises the world’s seven richest countries -- the U.S., Britain, Germany, France, Japan, Canada, Italy -- and Russia.

Under the agreement, 18 countries -- Benin, Bolivia, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guyana, Honduras, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Niger, Rwanda, Senegal, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia -- will not owe the more than $40 billion to the World Bank.

The deal will save the initial 18 countries about $1.5 billion annually that may now be used for health care, education and anti-poverty programs. Zambia has already announced that it will use millions of dollars freed up by debt cancellation to provide AIDS drugs for 100,000 HIV-positive people by the end of this year.

While the G-8 represents little more than one-eighth of the world's 6.3-billion people, these countries account for almost two-thirds of the world's annual income, according to Africa Action.

The current proposal, says Africa Action, does not cover the majority of African countries now on "debt row." This week, the African Union called on the G-8 to cancel all of the foreign debts of all African countries, totaling in excess of $300 billion.

Critics of Bush said the president’s proposed initiatives are just rhetoric, saying Bush often talks in grand terms of supporting social programs but doesn’t fund them.

"The Bush Administration’s Africa policy is more noteworthy for its public relations efforts than for any benefit to the African continent," Ann-Louise Colgan, director of policy analysis and communications at Africa Action, said in a statement.

"None of the claims and promises of new funding for Africa from the White House have fully materialized, and the President’s G-8 agenda falls far short of a bold commitment to supporting African efforts to fight poverty and promote development," Colgan said.

"All African countries need full access to their own resources now if they are to succeed in the fight against poverty and HIV/AIDS," she said. "The G-8 should expand the recent debt deal to include all African countries, and should cut the harmful conditions attached to
this deal, when they meet next week."

Last week, Bush proposed initiatives to help Africa, calling for increased spending to fight malaria, help more children attend school and ensure the rights of women.

The president said the United States would spend at least $1.2 billion over the next five years to reduce deaths from malaria in 15 African countries. Bush also called for spending $400 million over the next five years on education, and he announced a $55 million program over the next three years to quell sexual violence against women.

This year, according to Africa Action, nearly 3 million Africans will die of HIV/AIDS and about 500,000 African children will die of malaria.

Marie Clarke Brill, director of public education and mobilization at Africa Action, said Bush’s new plans on malaria and education "are nothing more than a mirage."

"The president makes promises based on future funding projections, which he cannot guarantee," Brill said.

"Instead of a bold commitment to combating malaria and other deadly challenges," she said, "this new plan -- which includes only three countries -- makes a farce of this so-called compassionate gesture."