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President Bush's wife, Laura, has announced four new African countries will be added to a U.S.-backed initiative to control malaria on the continent.

Speaking in Washington Thursday Mrs. Bush said the United States will be a partner in the initiative with Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, and Senegal.

She said the program will help provide the countries with anti-malaria drugs and long-lasting mosquito nets, and help them conduct spraying procedures to kill mosquitoes.

President Bush unveiled the $1.2 billion initiative last year. Tanzania, Uganda and Angola are already part of the five-year plan.

The U.N. says 3,000 children a day die of malaria in Africa.

To help lead the fight against the illness, President Bush has appointed the first U.S. Malaria Coordinator, Timothy Ziemer. Ziemer, a retired U.S. Navy rear admiral, was previously executive director of World Relief, a private American disaster relief organization.