ZIMBABWE: UNICEF makes AIDS appeal for affected children

JOHANNESBURG, 18 Mar 2005 (PLUSNEWS) - The UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) has urged international donors to open their purses to Zimbabwean children affected by the impact of HIV/AIDS.

Although suffering the world's fourth-highest HIV infection rate - an estimated 26 percent of its 12.5 million population - UNICEF said Zimbabwe received just a fraction of the donor funding spent on its neighbours.

Pointing out that the disease claimed the life of one child every 15 minutes, UNICEF executive director Carol Bellamy appealed to donors to look beyond attempting to punish the Zimbabwe government for human rights violations.

"Look for other ways to make your point - don't take it out on the world's children," Bellamy said on Thursday in Johannesburg, South Africa.

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