Southern African Development Community To Create Plan To Fight AIDS in Region
The 14 member nations of the Southern African Development Community are scheduled to meet on Friday in Lesotho to develop a joint plan to combat AIDS in the region, officials announced last week, Reuters reports. The region, where about 1% of the world's population lives, has an estimated 40% of the world's HIV-positive people, according to the United Nations Development Programme. "Despite all our efforts, the disease is not abating. By sharing our experiences in care, treatment and education about HIV/AIDS, we might be able to come up with a successful common strategy," Esther Kanaimba, SADC spokesperson, said. The SADC member nations include Angola, Botswana, Democratic Republic of Congo, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe (Reuters, 6/27).
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