Cablegate: Media Reaction World Aids Day; Harare

This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

UNCLAS HARARE 002738

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR AF/PD, AF/S, AF/RA, AF/PDPA
NSC FOR JENDAYI FRAZER
LONDON FOR GURNEY
PARIS FOR NEARY
NAIROBI FOR PFLAUMER

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KPAO KMDR ZI
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION WORLD AIDS DAY; HARARE

1. Under headline "The AIDS pandemic in Southern Africa"
the pro-government weekly "The Sunday Mirror" dedicated its
December 1 editorial to calling for "political commitment"
in the fight against HIV/AIDS, adding that "there should
also be financial commitment to allocate enough money to
programs of prevention and those that alleviate the
suffering of infected persons." Excerpts:

2. "As the world commemorates World Aids Day today, the
latest United Nations report on HIV/AIDS indicates
that the epidemic is getting worse in Southern
Africa. . .The U. N. report links the devastation of
the AIDS pandemic to the current drought and famine
in a number of countries in Southern Africa, and
predicts more suffering for the region. . .It is
estimated that more than 14 million people are now
on the brink of starvation in Lesotho, Malawi,
Mozambique, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe. . .The
HIV/AIDS pandemic is real. In order for Southern
Africa and indeed for Africa as a whole to win the
fight against AIDS, there is need for action beyond
just awareness campaigns. There must be political
commitment to implement multi-sectoral national
strategies to combat the spread of the disease.
There should also be financial commitment to
allocate enough money to programs of prevention and
those that alleviate the suffering of infected
persons. Above all, the fight against HIV/AIDS is
not an individual fight, there is need for combined
effort. Just as most African countries have
national programs and strategies to deal with the
HIV/AIDS pandemic, it is time to think of a SADC
regional strategy to fight the disease and,
eventually perhaps, an African continental plan to
combat HIV/AIDS."

SULLIVAN

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