ZIMBABWE: US envoy pledges food aid to HIV-positive

JOHANNESBURG, 15 Aug 2005 (PLUSNEWS) - The US ambassador to the World Food Programme and Food and Agriculture Organisation, Tony Hall, has pledged continued food for people living with HIV/AIDS in Zimbabwe.

After meeting victims of President Robert Mugabe's mass eviction campaign at various transit camps, Hall said there was no place for politics when it came to feeding hungry people.

Agence France-Presse quoted Hall as saying: "We have talked a lot about the situation here in Zimbabwe, the high inflation, the long lines of people waiting for gasoline, the HIV/AIDS problem and the fact that there just isn't enough food. We are going to continue to help you and we hope that you will get better."

The ambassador announced a US donation of some $51.8 million worth of food for Zimbabwe and the neighbouring countries of Zambia, Malawi, Lesotho and Swaziland.

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