Egypt, Morocco, Palestinian territories to join U.S.-Middle East breast cancer partnership, First Lady Bush says

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Oct 29 2007

First lady Laura Bush on Thursday at the King Hussein Cancer Center in Amman, Jordan, announced that Egypt, Morocco and the Palestinian territories will join the U.S.-Middle East Partnership for Breast Cancer Awareness and Research, AFP/Yahoo! News reports (AFP/Yahoo! News, 10/25).

Bush on Friday completed a six-day tour of the Middle East in an effort to promote breast cancer awareness and treatment. Jordan was the last stop on her tour. She visited Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia during the tour.

The U.S.-Middle East Partnership was organized by the State Department and includes the Susan G. Komen for the Cure, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Johns Hopkins Medicine, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. The partnership, which Bush announced in June 2006, supports research, training and community outreach efforts, as well as educating women on how to take control of their own health (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 10/25). Jordan also joined the partnership in 2006, according to AFP/Yahoo! News.

Egypt, Morocco and the Palestinian territories will join the partnership next year with $1.5 million in funding from USAID, Bush said. "Women in these countries will benefit from community screening and awareness activities ... leading to early detection," Bush added.

Bush on Thursday while touring the King Hussein Cancer Center also unveiled a model of a breast cancer-screening center, which will be built in western Amman. USAID and the Jordanian Ministry of Health contributed $255,000 to build the center, which is expected to be operational by February 2008, AFP/Yahoo! News reports. The center is the first of its kind in Jordan and will provide comprehensive breast health services, according to a statement (AFP/Yahoo! News, 10/25).

Fox News Channel's "Fox News Sunday" included a discussion with Bush about the trip (Wallace, "Fox News Sunday," Fox News Channel, 10/28). Video of the segment is available online.

In addition, Fox News' "On the Record with Greta van Susteren" on Monday is scheduled to include a discussion with Bush about the trip ("On the Record with Greta van Susteren" Web site, 10/29). A broadcast schedule is available online. A transcript of the segment will be available online Tuesday.

This article was reprinted from khn.org with permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. Kaiser Health News, an editorially independent news service, is a program of the Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonpartisan health care policy research organization unaffiliated with Kaiser Permanente.