Laura Bush Announces Additional $500,000 in PEPFAR Funding for Catholic HIV/AIDS Program in Tanzania

First lady Laura Bush on Wednesday announced an additional $500,000 pledge from the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief to a Roman Catholic church program in Tanzania that supports people living with or affected by HIV/AIDS, AFP/Yahoo! News reports. Pastoral Activities for People with AIDS (PASADA) offers assistance, such as medical care, at no cost to patients, their families and orphans (AFP/Yahoo! News, 7/13). Bush, who is on a four-day, three-nation tour in Africa to highlight programs funded under PEPFAR, said the organization exemplifies the type of religious charity that the president's program aims to support (AP/Baltimore Sun, 7/14). In a speech to the group, she praised PASADA for its "lifesaving, life-changing work" and for working to eradicate HIV/AIDS-related stigma (White House release, 7/13). Bush also called for a renewed fight against malaria in Tanzania, which is among the three countries that will be first to receive assistance from President Bush's new global malaria initiative announced last month (Xinhua News Agency, 7/13). Bush was accompanied by her daughter Jenna, who handed out gifts to several children who each had lost at least one parent to AIDS-related causes (AP/Arizona Daily Star, 7/14). Bush is ending her tour with a visit to Rwanda, to which the U.S. has pledged assistance for combating HIV/AIDS, providing educational scholarships and promoting good governance (Loven, AP/Minneapolis Star Tribune, 7/14).

Back to other news for July 14, 2005