March 17, 2008

Laura Bush Urges Support for HIV-Positive Haitians

Following her visit to Haiti on March 13, First Lady Laura Bush has urged continued U.S. funding for HIV/AIDS programs in the country, the Miami Herald reports (miamiherald.com, 3/14).

“I want to encourage especially the people of Haiti and the Haitian Americans...in Florida and all over the United States to stay involved in Haiti, to reach out as individuals...to make sure this success continues,” she said in the article.

The first lady’s tour of Haiti comes just months after a controversial study that suggested that HIV was brought to the U.S. from Haiti.

Bush did not discuss the study but instead toured a leading AIDS research clinic in the country. She also met with several HIV-positive women who are sustaining themselves and their families with micro-finance programs funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development, as well as three children living with the virus.

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Previous Comments:

Phil Ramsey, Midland City, 2008-03-18 17:59:16
Why isn't out gov'e more interested in increasing the HIV assistance here in the USA rather that other countries. We need help.

Jim W., Oakland Park, 2008-03-17 23:34:45
Why isn't Laura Bush urging support for HIV+ Americans? Here and the idiot husband think that if they throw money at Africa that they are humanitarians. But they keep forgetting the too darn many of us here in this country!