WASHINGTON: The US Senate voted to triple spending for a much-acclaimed programme that has treated and protected millions in Africa and elsewhere from the scourges of AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis.The 80-16 vote committed the US government to spending up to $48 billion over the next five years for the most ambitious foreign public health program ever launched by the United States.The legislation would replace and expand the current USD15 billion act that President George W Bush championed in a State of the Union address and Congress passed in 2003.

That act expires at the end of September.In a statement, Bush said that when the programme was launched in 2003, about 50,000 people in sub-Saharan Africa were receiving anti-retroviral treatment for HIV/AIDS. Today, the programme supports lifesaving anti-retroviral treatment for more than 1.7 million people around the world, he said. It also has supported treatment and prevention programmes that have helped HIV-positive women give birth to nearly 200,000 infants without passing along the virus.

"Travelling in Africa earlier this year, Laura and I had our most recent opportunity to witness the effectiveness of this programme," he said. "We were honoured to see the doctors, nurses and caregivers of all faiths working to save the lives of their fellow citizens. And we met the patients, including many children, who understand and appreciate America's generosity."

The Democratic-led Senate, rarely in agreement with the White House, gave Bush credit for initiating the programme. Senator Joseph Biden, Democratic chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and a chief negotiator in crafting the bill, said PEPFAR is "the single most significant thing the president has done."