SOUTH AFRICA: Poverty thwarting AIDS effort - government

The absence of widespread developmental programmes aimed at eradicating poverty continued to thwart the effort to fight HIV/AIDS, Gauteng province Premier Mbhazima Shilowa said on Tuesday.

"Without larger developmental programmes to combat poverty, the world will never overcome the scourge of this pandemic," Shilowa was reported as saying in his address to the provincial legislature where he presented the province's annual AIDS report. Shilowa said it was clear that breaking the cycle of poverty would require focused attention on alleviation programmes.

Shilowa announced the province's US $7.9 million plan to fight the epidemic and reduce infections over the next year. He said that a multi-faceted strategy would be adopted and would see more money channelled to areas where it was needed most. "We will use methods that have proven to work elsewhere, and these include the provision of condoms, dealing with STDs, communication and education," he was quoted as saying.

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