‘Threat’ of HIV/AIDS Should Be ‘Paramount Concern’ of Nations Worldwide, Editorial Says
As world economies become "ever more closely linked," the "threat" of the HIV/AIDS pandemic should be of "paramount concern" to nations worldwide because the disease is "devastating" Africa and "threatening to explode" in China, India and Russia, according to a Charlotte Observer editorial. U.N. Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa Stephen Lewis speaking Wednesday at the Foundation for the Carolinas made the "dire global situation real" by describing the effects of the pandemic, especially on women and children, the editorial says. Despite "admirable efforts by the international community," more than 20 million children in sub-Saharan Africa will have lost one or both parents to HIV/AIDS-related causes by 2010, and 75% of the 6.2 million adults living with the disease in Africa are female, Lewis said, according to the Observer. "[M]ore is needed" to "confront the global crisis," including the "leadership of a fully engaged, enlightened United States," the editorial concludes (Charlotte Observer, 2/18).
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