George W. Bush received a warm welcome in Tanzania Thursday on the first stop on an African philanthropic tour, despite a rights group's call for the former US president's arrest on torture charges.

Bush was received in the economic capital Dar es Salaam by Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete, who thanked him for America's contribution to his country's fight against AIDS.

"For us in Tanzania, whenever we talk about the successes we have made in the fight against HIV/AIDS we cannot fail to recognize and acknowledge the invaluable support we have received and continue to receive from the people and government of the United States of America," the president said.

"Allow me to mention in particular the US president's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief which you initiated and being continued even more vigorously by your successor", President Barrack Obama.

Bush, accompanied by his wife Laura, will also travel to Zambia and Ethiopia on a five-day trip aimed at promoting efforts to fight diseases like cancer, AIDS and malaria.

The couple on Thursday visited a cancer treatment centre with Kikwete that benefits from an institute of which Bush is the patron.

"With people of goodwill like you Mr. President, I believe, together we shall fight and win the war against HIV/AIDS and achieve our target of an HIV-free generation in half a decade," said Kikwete.

Amnesty International earlier urged Ethiopia, Tanzania and Zambia to arrest Bush for violating international torture laws.

"All countries to which George W. Bush travels have an obligation to bring him to justice for his role in torture," Amnesty's senior legal adviser Matt Pollard said.

The group claims Bush authorised the use of "enhanced interrogation techniques" and "waterboarding" on detainees held in secret by the Central Intelligence Agency between 2002 and 2009.