Something good – not just good, important – happened in Washington the other day with bipartisan support, but you wouldn’t know it by listening to the news or reading the papers.

Few in the media noticed when, despite this capital city’s extended season of vitriol and vituperation, political opponents joined hands to launch a major women’s health initiative that could save thousands of lives. Former President George W. Bush and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, plus members of the private sector, the foundation world and the international community, met to announce what they are calling the Pink Ribbon Red Ribbon campaign.

One of Bush’s signature achievements while in office was PEPFAR – the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief. As a result of that effort, and thanks to billions of dollars from U.S. taxpayers, millions who would have died from AIDS now receive treatment at hundreds of clinics set up all over sub-Saharan Africa. Last year alone, more than 3.2 million people were treated, including more than 600,000 pregnant women. PEPFAR has literally brought life back to African cities where coffins had piled up waiting for someone to bury them.

Now Bush wants to build on that success by using the PEPFAR clinics to screen for and treat cervical cancer, which is four to five times more common in women with HIV because of their weakened immune systems.