ZAMBIA: New PEPFAR cash allocated for HIV/AIDS

The US is to give a further $150 million towards the development of Zambia's health infrastructure and other HIV/AIDS-related activities.

Speaking on Tuesday in Ndola, 350 km north of the capital, Lusaka, the US Ambassador to Zambia, Carmen Martinez, said the pandemic had severely impacted on the nation's economic and social progress.

Zambia's National AIDS Council has estimated that 12 percent of the country's 11 million population are HIV-positive, while only about 48,000 of the 200,000 people who need antiretroviral treatment are receiving it.

According the Zambia News and Information Services, the new funds are part of the US President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief.

Theme (s): Care/Treatment - PlusNews,

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