Washington - US President George W Bush and his Ghanian counterpart John Kufuor cited the progress that has been made in fighting AIDS and other diseases in Africa during a meeting at the White House on Monday.

Bush launched a 15-billion-dollar initiative five years ago to fight HIV/AIDS on Africa, the largest programme ever for combatting a single disease. He hope to double that amount in US spending in the next five years.

"I'm very comfortable in telling the American people that this will be money well spent," Bush said.

Bush has also spent millions of dollars to fight malaria, which kills an estimated 1 million Africans annually, most of them children.

"I want to use this opportunity to express the deep appreciation of my nation and myself to you, as president of the United States, and to your great nation for the support we benefited in our relationship with you," Kufuor said.

Bush is hosting Kufuor for a state dinner Monday evening. (dpa)