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"Clinton helps expand aid for Kenya’s
HIV children"
The
Star (www.thestar.com.my)
(25/07/05)
NAIROBI: Former US President Bill Clinton has
launched a programme that is to nearly double the number of children
receiving treatment for HIV infection in Kenya by the end of the year.
Some 100,000 children are infected with HIV, but only 1,200 receive
treatment. The Clinton Foundation's Paediatric HIV/AIDS Initiative will
provide treatment to an extra 1,000 children in this East African nation.
Clinton flew to Rwanda later on Saturday and donated a year's supply of
anti-retroviral treatment for 2,500 children infected with HIV, the virus
that causes AIDS.
The initiative is part of the Clinton Foundation's goal to have 10,000
children on anti-retroviral treatment in at least 10 countries by the end of
this year.
Clinton has raised funds from private donors led by the Children Investment
Fund Foundation, a London-based charity that funds projects to improve the
lives of children living in poor countries.
Children account for one-sixth of annual HIV/AIDS deaths worldwide, but
represent far less than 5% of current treatment coverage, according to the
World Health Organisation.
The lack of coverage is a result of difficulties associated with paediatric
HIV/AIDS care. Diagnosis for toddlers is also expensive, said the Clinton
Foundation.
Rwanda is the final stop on Clinton's six-nation tour of Africa, aimed at
focusing attention on the AIDS crisis in the continent. — AP
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