First Daughter Jenna Bush Launches Book Tour That Aims To Get Teenagers Involved In Issues, Including HIV/AIDS

Main Category: HIV / AIDS
Also Included In: Pediatrics / Children's Health
Article Date: 03 Oct 2007 - 5:00 PDT

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First daughter Jenna Bush on Saturday in Annapolis, Md., launched a three-month, 25-city tour to promote her nonfiction book, titled "Ana's Story: A Journey of Hope," that profiles a 17-year-old single mother in Panama who is HIV-positive, the Washington Post reports (Argetsinger, Washington Post, 9/30).

The book is based on Bush's experience interning at UNICEF. It aims to put a face on statistics and document the lives of children in Central and South America. Bush in March said the book is a "call to action." She added that there are many issues, such as HIV-related discrimination, that young people can address. The book is published by HarperCollins (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 3/8). Bush said that her share of the book's profits will go to UNICEF. According to the Post, some of the proceeds will go to an educational fund for Ana (Thompson, Washington Post, 9/29).

Bush's editors say she hopes to use her role as first daughter to raise awareness about what she calls "children of exclusion," or those neglected and living in poverty, the New York Times reports (Stolberg, New York Times, 9/29). "Ana changed my life," Bush said, adding, "She wanted the kids in the U.S. -- you -- to be educated about the illness she was living with." Mark Connolly, a UNICEF regional adviser on HIV/AIDS, said the book can help highlight that while the epidemic is more serious and better known in Africa, there is a "serious heterosexual AIDS epidemic in Latin America" (Washington Post, 9/29).

Broadcast Coverage
Three broadcast programs recently reported or are scheduled to report on Bush's book. Summaries appear below.

• ABC's "20/20": The segment includes a discussion with Bush about the book and other topics (Sawyer, "20/20," ABC, 9/28). Video excerpts of the interview and expanded ABC News coverage are available online.
  
  
• CNN's "Larry King Live": The program on Tuesday is scheduled to include a discussion with Bush about the book ("Larry King Live" Web site, 10/2). Broadcast information is available on the program's Web site. A transcript will be available online Wednesday.
  
  
• NBC's "Today Show": The segment includes a discussion with Bush about the book and other topics (Curry, "Today Show," NBC, 10/1). Video of the segment and an excerpt of a Glamour magazine interview with Bush are available online.

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