The President and Laura Bush are on a week-long, whirlwind tour of Africa this week with stops in Benin, Tanzania, Rwanda, Ghana, and Liberia.

Part of the trip is to review the results of the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, known as PEPFAR. PEPFAR is a five-year, $15 million plan to combat HIV/AIDS in the 15 of the world's poorest nations.

Funding for PEPFAR, the largest commitment ever by any nation to combat a single disease, runs out this year.

By highlighting the program's success on the ground in sub-Saharan Africa, Bush hopes to convince Congress and American taxpayers to reauthorize the initiative and double the program's budget to $30 billion over the next five years.

Before the President left for Africa, CBN News White House Correspondent Melissa Charbonneau talked exclusively with three key players in the fight against AIDS.

TATU MSANGI, a 35-year-old nurse at the Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Center in Tanzania, learned she contracted HIV when she became pregnant. Tatu says she and her two-year-old daughter Faith owe their lives to a Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation clinic, funded by American tax dollars. Tatu and Faith attended the State of the Union address in Washington, D.C., as guests of the First Lady.   WATCH NOW.

MARK DYBUL, the President's U.S. Global AIDS coordinator, talked about radical changes taking place in Africa because of U.S. partnerships with local governments, community, and faith-based groups. These partnerships provide treatment, support, and prevention in 15 of the nation's poorest countries.   WATCH NOW.

TOM HART is the director of Government Relations with the ONE Campaign to combat global poverty and disease, founded by Irish rock star Bono. Hart has lobbied lawmakers on Capitol Hill to reauthorize the President's global HIV/AIDS plan, talks about the need to continue PEPFAR funding to Africa, and speculates on the impact the presidential election will have on the program's future.  WATCH NOW.