Your daily Selection of IRIN Africa PlusNews reports, 3/2/2004

[Guest guest]

U N I T E D N A T I O N S

Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

Integrated Regional Information Network

CONTENT:

1 - ETHIOPIA: Botswana and Ethiopia to cooperate in fighting HIV/AIDS

1 - ETHIOPIA: Botswana and Ethiopia to cooperate in fighting HIV/AIDS

ADDIS ABABA, 2 March (PLUSNEWS) - The leaders of two African countries

severely hit by HIV/AIDS have agreed to cooperate in combating the

pandemic. Botswanan President Festus Mogae, who on Monday started an

official four-day visit to Ethiopia to boost bilateral relations and Prime

Minister Meles Zenawi said their two countries would share experiences in

fighting the virus.

Botswana has one of the highest HIV/AIDS prevalence rates in the world -

over 35 percent among its 1.6 million people. According to UNAIDS, the

epidemic continues to gain ground and, while some successes have been made

in a decade-long response, the country has been unable to keep pace.

In Ethiopia, according to UNAIDS, the epidemic has progressed to become

the 16th-highest prevalence rate globally. An estimated 5,000 people are

infected every week, with the result that nearly 3 million people

infected and nearly a million children are orphaned.

" We are both afflicted by HIV/AIDS, " Mogae told officials and journalists

at the National Palace in the capital, Addis Ababa. " What we can do is

exchange notes and experiences, " he said, specifying that anti-retroviral

(ARV) treatment and voluntary testing would be two key areas on which they

would focus their joint efforts.

Botswana is already distributing ARVs to all its citizens in need of them,

and is promoting routine testing at all its public health facilities.

" We know that Botswana has a considerable experience in fighting this

pandemic, " Meles said on the same occasion. " We are also engaged in an

all-out struggle against the disease. We believe it is imperative to

cooperate in this area and learn from one another’s experience. "

Meles paid a glowing tribute to his counterpart, describing Botswana as a

beacon worthy of emulation by other African countries. " Botswana is

without doubt the country that has been best governed since independence

in the continent, " he said.

" Botswana is, economically, one of the countries that has grown very fast,

not just in Africa but elsewhere in the world. So there is a lot that we

in Ethiopia can learn from our brothers in Botswana. We share the same

ideals and views and are like-minded, which is a key basis for our

partnership. "

The Ethiopian leader also hailed the new Africa task force established by

the British Prime Minister Tony Blair, of which Meles would be a member.

Its mandate is to tackle the crisis in Africa in the context of HIV/AIDS,

governance, debt relief and economic growth.

Botswana and Ethiopia are also examining ways of sharing agricultural

technology, working more closely in the aviation sector and helping to

strengthen the African Union (AU).

During his stay in Ethiopia, Mogae will tour historic sites, including

Aksum and its centuries-old obelisks. He will join celebrations marking

the Battle of Adwa – when in 1896 Italian troops were crushed by

Ethiopians in the first-ever defeat of a colonial power by an African

army. On Thursday, he will deliver a major policy speech at AU

headquarters.

[ENDS]

[This Item is Delivered to the English Service of the UN's IRIN

humanitarian information unit, but may not necessarily reflect the views

of the United Nations. For further information, free subscriptions, or

to change your keywords, contact e-mail: Irin@... or Web:

http://www.irinnews.org . If you re-print, copy, archive or re-post

this item, please retain this credit and disclaimer. Reposting by

commercial sites requires written IRIN permission.]

Copyright © UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs 2004

IRIN Contacts:

IRIN-Asia

Tel: +92-51-2211451

Fax: +92-51-2292918

Email: IrinAsia@...

To make changes to or cancel your subscription visit:

http://www.irinnews.org/subscriptions

Subscriber: AIDS treatments