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President and Mrs. Bush Will Travel to Zambia to Refurbish Cervical Cancer Clinic

Next week, President George W. Bush and Mrs. Laura Bush will travel to Livingstone, Zambia to continue their commitment to the people of Africa...

Next week, President George W. Bush and Mrs. Laura Bush will travel to Livingstone, Zambia to continue their commitment to the people of Africa through the work of their global health initiative at the George W. Bush Institute.  While in Livingstone, President and Mrs. Bush will work alongside local Zambians, U.S. embassy officials and Bush Institute staff to renovate a clinic that when completed, will serve as a cervical cancer screening and treatment center.

This is the second time President and Mrs. Bush will travel to Zambia for this purpose. Last July, they renovated and opened the NguNgu Health Center in Kabwe, Zambia.

The work is in direct support of the Pink Ribbon Red Ribbon partnership – spearheaded by the Bush Institute, PEPFAR, UNAIDS and Susan G. Komen for the Cure, along with other private and public partners – which combats cervical and breast cancer in the developing world. In December of 2011, the partnership launched in Zambia, and in July of 2012, it expanded to its second country, Botswana.  As part of the initiative, PRRR relies on private and public partners with the expertise and local networks to reach women who might otherwise die of these cancers.

Work on the Livingstone clinic begins this week by volunteers from Dallas, including a group of students from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, TX, where the George W. Bush Presidential Center is located. Regular updates from the volunteer team can be found at www.bushcenter.org/blog.

The clinic in Livingstone will open to the public on July 1, 2013 and begin screening women that day. Following their trip to Zambia, President and Mrs. Bush will travel to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, to host the Bush Institute’s African First Ladies Summit,Investing in Women: Strengthening Africa, supported by ExxonMobil, which highlights the critical role First Ladies play as advocates for women and girls, spotlights success stories and best practices, and discusses public-private partnerships that lead to sustainable results.

View images from President and Mrs. Bush's 2012 trip to Africa