The Bush Center announces trip of President & Mrs. Bush to Tanzania, Zambia & Ethiopia
Tuesday, November 22nd, 2011
Dallas, TX — The George W. Bush Presidential Center today announced that President and Mrs. Bush will travel to Tanzania, Zambia and Ethiopia from December 1-5, 2011.
The trip demonstrates President and Mrs. Bush’s continued commitment to the people of Africa through the work of the George W. Bush Institute’s (GWBI) Global Health program. The trip will also highlight the Pink Ribbon Red Ribbon® initiative, an innovative partnership between GWBI, the U.S. Department of State President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), Susan G. Komen for the Cure®, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), and other private partners. The Pink Ribbon Red Ribbon initiative leverages public and private investments and existing health infrastructures to combat two of the leading causes of cancer death among women in Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America – cervical and breast cancer.
In Africa, President and Mrs. Bush will emphasize the importance of the continued fight against HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases, and will celebrate the remarkable progress made over the past decade to address the challenges of disease, poverty and security. In addition, their visit will spotlight new approaches to prevent cancer in women through a major announcement by Pink Ribbon Red Ribbon partners.
Last September, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, Ambassador Nancy Brinker, Ambassador Eric Goosby and Mr. Michel Sidibe joined President and Mrs. Bush to announce Pink Ribbon Red Ribbon in Washington, D.C.
In 2001, President Bush announced the first commitment of his Administration to fight the spread of preventable disease in Africa. A decade later, 4.7 million people receive anti-retrovirals through PEPFAR and Global Fund, bringing the total to 6.6 million people in developing countries who receive life saving AIDS medications thanks to the leadership of private organizations, national governments, and the international community.
This will be the first week long trip by President and Mrs. Bush to the African continent since their time in the White House. While in office, President and Mrs. Bush traveled jointly to Africa in 2003 and 2008, and Mrs. Bush traveled separately there in 2005, 2006 and 2007.
Source: The Bush Center
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