Sponsored Links:
Reuters
Former US president George W. Bush (right) stands beside an HIV-positive woman during a visit made with his wife, former first lady Laura Bush, to an HIV care and treatment programme at Addis Ababa's Saint Paul Millenium Medical College.
Addis Ababa - Former United States president George W. Bush on Sunday told the 16th International Conference on Aids in Africa (ICASA) that despite global financial worries, the fight against the disease must go on.
“We have to make priorities, and there's no greater priority than saving human lives,” Bush said in a speech before thousands of delegates in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa.
Bush's comments came as delegates met to tackle financing for Aids medication to Africa in the face of possible cutbacks by international donors.
Speakers at the conference echoed Bush's sentiment.
“This is the first time in the history of fighting Aids that we're seeing a fallback in funds,” UNAIDS director Michel Sidibe warned in a speech on Sunday.
The Global Fund to Fight Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria had earlier announced it would not hold a new fund-raising round for HIV/Aids treatment and prevention programmes, since donors in industrialised nations affected by the financial crisis were unable to meet their commitments to the fund.
The Global Fund has to date paid for 70 percent of anti-retroviral drugs distributed in Africa.
Around 5 000 delegates are expected to attend the five-day conference, which is to be made up of more than 1 000 sessions under the theme “Own, Scale-up and Sustain”.
Around 68 percent of the 34-million people who are living with HIV worldwide live in sub-Saharan Africa. - Sapa-dpa
|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Services
Buying a car has never been easy. Motoring.co.za contains a large database of car listings with a user friendly search.
Start searching today »
Business Directory
We like to make your life easier
Mobile
Browse IOL on your phone at m.iol.co.za.
Newsletters
Subscribe to our newsletters. News delivered to your inbox!
Comment Guidelines