ETHIOPIA: Peace needed to tackle AIDS - former president

Former Ethiopian President Negaso Gidada has said that peace was essential in the struggle against HIV/AIDS.

Speaking recently at the Headquarters of the UN Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE), the former president stressed the need for establishing peace "with ourselves and with our neighbours" if the disease was to be tackled effectively.

Gidada was quoted by a local newspaper, The Daily Monitor, as saying: "Our fight against HIV/AIDS and our efforts in economic and social development demand from us that we contribute what we can in having a just and sustainable peace in our country and with our neighbours."

Ethiopia's HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control Office (HAPCO) recently estimated that approximately 1,000 Ethiopians contracted HIV each day.

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[This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations]