African First Ladies Summit, highlighting cancer initiative. Africa is preparing to participate in the African First Ladies Summit “Investing in Women: Strengthening Africa,” which is slated for Tuesday and Wednesday in Tanzania. President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama are scheduled to attend the event, along with former President George W. Bush and former first lady Laura Bush. Brinker, former U.S. ambassador to Hungary, is now chairwoman of global strategy for Susan G. Komen for the Cure.Komen partnered with UNAIDS, a United Nations program; the George W. Bush Institute; and PEPFAR, the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief to create the Pink Ribbon Red Ribbon initiative. Since its launch in late 2011, more than 35,000 women have been screened for cervical cancer in Zambia. Tanzania will be named the second Pink Ribbon Red Ribbon partner during the summit. Parts of sub-Saharan Africa are less equipped than other regions to provide screening and lifesaving treatments, Brinker said Saturday in a call from Zambia. “When we do this kind of thing, you can feel the world change overnight. The women know there is a therapy for this disease [cervical cancer]. They want treatment. They want screening. They want to live long and normal lives, too,” Brinker said.“Just in this area alone, more than 100,000 women die each year of these diseases, breast and cervical cancer,” Brinker said. The numbers of deaths from those diseases are likely higher as many cases are not reported to the cancer registry, she said.On June 17, Judith A. Salerno replaced Brinker as chief executive officer of Komen. In January 2012, a social media-driven outcry erupted over Komen’s plan to withdraw its financial support for breast-cancer screenings at Planned Parenthood clinics. That decision was quickly reversed and Brinker announced she would step down.
Posted on: Sun, 30 Jun 2013 02:51:50 +0000
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