President Bush calls for more Aids funding

The issue of fighting Aids in Africa is high on George Bush's agenda for the forthcoming G8 summit.

Speaking to congress on Wednesday, the president urged senators to approve an extra $50 billion (£25.13 million) in funds over five years to fight Aids, tuberculosis and malaria across the continent.

Legislation to more than triple the existing funds was approved by the House of Representatives but a group of Republican senators blocked the proposal.

President Bush told reporters: "It's very important that Congress reauthorise this plan.

"We'll [the summit] also discuss additional steps to confront some other challenges, such as the need to train health care workers in G8 partner countries in Africa."

Experts from the World Health Organisation recently claimed that international aid should be used to increase doctors' salaries and finance recruitment and training of more medical staff, reports Reuters.