Senegal ? First lady Laura Bush started a four-nation Africa tour Monday that is expected to focus on how the U.S. can help fight AIDS on a continent where many countries struggle to even provide basic health care.

Mrs. Bush, accompanied by her daughter Jenna, is scheduled to visit areas that have benefited from U.S. AIDS funding this week – the west African nations of Senegal and Mali, along with Mozambique and Zambia in southern Africa.

Mrs. Bush and her daughter arrived late Monday in Senegal’s seaside capital, Dakar. They were greeted by a group of about 30 dignitaries, including Senegal’s first lady, Viviane Wade, and her daughter.

Today, Mrs. Bush is scheduled to visit a Senegalese hospital whose AIDS programs include a vegetable garden to improve nutrition by supplementing patients’ meals and an after-hours AIDS drug dispensary for those who want to avoid any stigma attached to the disease.

She will also visit an elementary school and a library in Dakar as part of her third trip to Africa. She is also expected to talk about obstacles to education, women’s empowerment and how to fight malaria on the continent.