French First Lady To Travel to Burkina Faso as Global Fund Goodwill Ambassador
Officials on Wednesday announced that French first lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy will travel to Burkina Faso next week for her first trip as a Global Fund To Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria goodwill ambassador, AFP/Yahoo! News reports. During the one-day trip on Feb. 11, Bruni-Sarkozy will visit a hospital in Ouagadougou, the country's capital, and meet women and children who are living with HIV. She also will meet with health officials and advocates and visit an HIV testing center. According to AFP/Yahoo! News, Bruni-Sarkozy became a Global Fund goodwill ambassador in November 2008 with the aim of focusing on women and children. A 2008 United Nations report found that HIV prevalence in Burkina Faso decreased from 7.4% in 1997 to 2% in 2005 in part because of increasing condom use. The United Nations ranks Burkina Faso as the world's third poorest country (AFP/Yahoo! News, 2/4).
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