Former President Bush Wraps Up Weeklong Africa Mission

Posted July 6th, 2012 at 4:50 pm (UTC-5)
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Former U.S. President George W. Bush has wrapped up a weeklong tour of Africa aimed at promoting cervical cancer detection and empowering women to make “positive change in their lives.”

Mr. Bush and his wife, Laura, announced a $3 million initiative in Botswana that expands an existing program aimed at combating cervical and breast cancer. Photos provided by the George W. Bush Presidential Center also showed the former first couple meeting with Peace Corps workers in a village just outside of Botswana's capital, Gaborone.

Experts say cervical cancer is the second most common cancer in Botswana, and the leading cause of cancer-related deaths for women in the country.

The Bushes spent much of the week in Kabwe, Zambia, where they helped renovate a clinic to diagnose and treat women with cervical cancer. Additional photos showed the former president — who celebrated his 66th birthday on Friday — in work clothes, a paint roller in hand.

During his presidency, Mr. Bush launched an AIDS initiative that initially funded $15 billion worth of anti-retroviral drugs and treatment to extend the lives of millions of Africans with HIV and AIDS.

His post-presidency humanitarian work on the continent has drawn widespread praise in sub-Saharan Africa,where an estimated 23 million people live with the HIV virus that causes AIDS.