AIDS-Related Diseases Second Leading Cause of Death in Honduras, UNICEF Report Says
AIDS-related diseases are now the second leading cause of death in Honduras, according to a UNICEF report issued last week, the AP/CNN.com reports. Although the country's population accounts for only 17% of the population of Central America, it accounts for 60% of all AIDS cases, UNICEF local representative Fernando Lazcano said on Wednesday. "The consequences of AIDS are simply devastating and they undermine the hopes for development of any people," Lazcano said, adding that the disease undermines a country's productivity by targeting those of working age and by causing social and medical problems (AP/CNN.com, 7/22). Lazcano at a press conference on Wednesday announced a new UNICEF project to help AIDS orphans in the country. The new project will help 2,000 of the country's more than 25,500 orphans, Lazcano said (Xinhua News, 7/23).
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