First Lady Bush Urges Education, Compassion to Fight HIV/AIDS; African First Ladies Launch Campaign to Fight Disease Among Children

Education and compassion are crucial to the fight against HIV/AIDS, first lady Laura Bush said in New York City on Thursday in an address to the General Assembly of the Organization of African First Ladies Against HIV/AIDS, the AP/Long Island Newsday reports. Education "encourages people to seek treatment and raises awareness of prevention" and also removes the stigma associated with the disease, Bush said, adding that compassion "calls us to work in partnership to alleviate suffering around the world because of HIV/AIDS" (Milton, AP/Long Island Newsday, 9/15). Bush in July visited Tanzania, Rwanda and South Africa over four days to highlight programs funded under the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, 7/14). OAFLA was formed by the African first ladies in July 2002 in Geneva (Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, 5/24).

African First Ladies Launch HIV/AIDS Education Campaign
About 40 African first ladies at the OAFLA meeting launched an HIV/AIDS education campaign targeted at young people on the continent, Reuters/San Diego Union-Tribune reports. The "Treat Every Child as Your Own" campaign will aim to prevent new infections among young people and educate adults about how to protect children. It initially will focus on protecting children affected by the disease from stigma (Parsons, Reuters/San Diego Union-Tribune, 9/15). The campaign was developed by the Center for Communications Programs at Johns Hopkins University. It will use billboards, posters and radio spots that can be adapted to local conditions and integrated with existing programs (Boustany, Washington Post, 9/16).

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