WASHINGTON (CMC):

After visiting Haiti for the first time Thursday, United States First Lady Laura Bush has called on Congress to authorise more funding for HIV/AIDS programmes in the Caribbean and Africa.

Haiti was the second stop of a two-nation tour that also took her to Mexico.

"I want to encourage, especially, the people of Haiti and the Haitian Americans in Florida and all over the United States to stay involved in Haiti, to reach out as individuals to make sure this success continues," said Bush, who visited GHESKIO clinic, a major HIV/AIDS research centre in Port-au-Prince, the Haitian capital while in Haiti.

"You can see the success at GHESKIO," Bush added in a statement issued here. "I was just very encouraged.

"It's important for Americans to know what they are doing," she continued, alluding to the $15-billion Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief programme, which the Bush administration created five years ago. Congress is considering extending it.