- Title: FRANCE: Carla Bruni-Sarkozy lends help to Hadassah and Aids victims
- Date: 6th March 2009
- Summary: (SOUNDBITE) (English) DIRECTOR GENERAL OF THE HADASSAH MEDICAL CENTRE PROFESSOR SHLOMO MOR-YOSEF, SAYING: "I think so, I think in her role as ambassador of goodwill for AIDS and with her humanitarian activities and with her background, I think it really will bring hope, not just to Hadassah and Hadassah ladies and patients but to the whole world, and I am very proud to be
- Embargoed: 21st March 2009 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: France
- Country: France
- Topics: Health,Social Services / Welfare
- Reuters ID: LVAA7DCULD7S0WA5ISOZ1V2IU0S2
- Story Text: France's first lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, attends the Art Joy Love charity gala in aid of the 25th anniversary of the Jewish medical organisation, Hadassah.
France's First Lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy was the guest of honour at a gala dinner for Hadassah France in Paris on Thursday night (March 5).
The event, held at the Armenonville Pavillion, marked the 25th anniversary of the medical relief organisation.
The benefits of the gala go towards Hadassah and to help the victims of AIDS in Israel and Ethiopia.
Bruni-Sarkozy visited the Hadassah hospital in Jerusalem last June, during a three-day visit to Israel with her husband French President Nicolas Sarkozy.
She received a personal tour of the hospital's paediatric unit by the Director-General of the Hadassah Medical Centre Prof. Shlomo Mor-Yosef and the President of Hadassah France Dr. Sydney Ohana.
Professor Shlomo Mor-Yosef said he had been touched by Bruni-Sarkozy's show of emotion at the hospital and her engagement in the fight against AIDS.
He said she had been particularly touched by the infant patients and he hoped she could be an inspiration to them all.
"I think so, I think in her role as ambassador of goodwill for AIDS and with her humanitarian activities and with her background, I think it really will bring hope, not just to Hadassah and Hadassah ladies and patients but to the whole world, and I am very proud to be part of this," he said.
Hadassah is a network of volunteers, stretching across faiths and nationalities, founded on the principle of advancement and cooperation in medicine and science.
"The right to medical care is an irrevocable universal human right. Every day in the Hadassah hospital there are Jewish doctors charged with Arab and Palestinian patients, and every day in Hadassah there are Palestinian doctors helping Jewish Israeli patients," the President of Hadassah France Dr. Sydney Ohana said.
In a surprise gesture, French President Nicolas Sarkozy dropped in on the event to lend his support to his wife and her cause before leaving on his official visit to Mexico.
Last December, Bruni-Sarkozy joined the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria to serve as an ambassador for the protection of mothers and children against AIDS, and last year she also visited victims in Burkina Faso.
"While visiting the Hadassah hospital last year, I said I wanted to help and I am very glad that my presence here today helps a little. Today Hadassah researches against Aids. I decided to make the fight against Aids my personal cause, and I thank you very much for making this a common cause with me today," Bruni-Sarkozy told the guests; Wearing a modest black and white dress, the first lady and former model accepted gifts and a certificate from the Hadassah organisation, the gifts she promptly donated back to the organisation's funds.
HIV has infected some 33 million people worldwide - 22 million in sub-Saharan Africa alone - and AIDS now ranks among the world's top 10 killer diseases.
An estimated 25 million people have died of the incurable condition, the No. 1 killer in Africa. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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