George W. Bush to travel to Africa to raise awareness about cervical, breast cancer

Former President George W. Bush will travel next month with former first lady Laura Bush and officials with the George W. Bush Institute to Tanzania, Zambia and Ethiopia "where they'll visit clinics and meet with governmental and health care leaders ... to raise awareness about cervical and breast cancer, an effort he calls a 'natural extension' of" the PEPFAR program launched during his presidency, the Associated Press reports. "The new program, called the Pink Ribbon Red Ribbon initiative, seeks to expand the availability of cervical cancer screening and treatment and breast care education in sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America," the news service notes.

The goal of the initiative, which "is a partnership among several organizations, including the Bush Institute, PEPFAR and the United Nations' program on HIV and AIDS, ... is to reduce deaths by 25 percent in five years among women screened and treated through the initiative," the AP writes, adding, "Bush said existing AIDS clinics will be used to screen and treat cervical cancer, which is four to five times more common among those living with HIV than those who don't have the virus" (Stengle, 11/22).