LIBERIA: AIDS relief offered by Clinton Foundation

Former US president Bill Clinton agreed on Tuesday to help assist Liberia's battle against HIV/AIDS.

Under the terms of an agreement signed in the capital Monrovia, the Clinton Foundation would negotiate affordable anti-AIDS drugs and HIV diagnostic materials for the west African nation.

Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf recently expressed concern over the rising HIV prevalence rate - an estimated 12 percent - among the population of some 3 million people.

Much of the problem, according to health ministers, was a lack of information on how far the pandemic had spread during 14 years of warfare, when guns were used alongside sexual assault to terrorise, intimidate and control the civilian population.

"The Clinton Foundation will endeavour to organise Liberia's HIV/AIDS National Care and Treatment Programme; areas of assistance could include, but not limited to strategic planning...," the memorandum of understanding reads.

Theme (s): Care/Treatment - PlusNews,

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