TANZANIA: Mrs Bush funds church AIDS initiative

US first lady Laura Bush pledged US $500,000 to a Roman Catholic Church programme assisting HIV-positive people and their families in Tanzania on Wednesday.

Mrs Bush made the donation to the Pastoral Activities and Services for People with AIDS (PASADA) organisation during her visit to the capital, Dar es Salaam, as part of a three-nation goodwill tour of eastern and southern Africa focused on education, HIV/AIDS and women's empowerment.

Agence France-Presse quoted the US First Lady as saying: "I am impressed by PASADA's good work. With such an organisation, hope triumphs over suffering ... you give a lease of life to parents, so that their children do not have to be orphans."

The Tanzanian Ministry of Health has estimated that seven percent of the country's adults - about two million people - are living with HIV/AIDS.

Theme (s): Care/Treatment - PlusNews,

[This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations]