President Bush will travel to Africa early next year, the White House announced on Thursday. Ghana is expected to be on the list of countries to be visited

White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said the specific dates of the trip and the countries Bush would visit would be announced later.

Bush was to discuss his policy toward Africa in a speech on Thursday night at a dinner to honor the memory of the late Rev. Leon Sullivan, who worked to strengthen relations between the United States and Africa.

"The president will discuss his vision for African development in his remarks tonight. The president will also announce in his remarks tonight that he'll be traveling to Africa in the early part of next year," Fleischer said.

Bush on Wednesday pledged $500 million to help fight the spread of AIDS in Africa and the Caribbean. There are an estimated 40 million HIV/AIDS sufferers in the world, most of them in sub-Saharan Africa, and more than 5,000 Africans die each day because of the disease.

The announcement of a Bush trip to Africa comes on the heels of Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill's 12-day swing through four African nations with Irish rock star Bono. O'Neill visited Ghana, South Africa, Uganda and Ethiopia.