Washington - The United States will boost its funding for health care programmes in poor countries, President Barack Obama said Tuesday, expanding a successful effort to combat AIDS and other diseases that was started by former president George W Bush.

The Obama administration will ask Congress for 63 billion dollars in funding over the next six years to expand basic health care access in developing countries.

The aid would build on 48 billion dollars already approved by Congress over the next five years to tackle AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis, primarily in Africa. Bush in 2003 began the effort, which now provides antiretroviral drugs to more than 2 million people on the continent.

Obama's plan would boost resources for child and maternal health care as well as family planning initiatives to reduce unwanted pregnancies.

"We will not be successful in our efforts to end deaths from AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis unless we do more to improve health systems around the world," Obama said in a statement.

Family planning organizations faced tough restrictions under the conservative Bush administration. Obama earlier this year lifted a ban that kept US funds from going to international family planning groups that perform abortions. (dpa)