Clinton on African Aids tour

2005-07-17 13:47

Maputo - Former US president Bill Clinton arrived in Mozambique early on Sunday on the first leg of a six-nation Africa tour aimed at boosting his foundation's work in the fight against Aids on the continent, a spokesperson said.

Clinton Foundation spokesperson Joachim Salvador told AFP that the former president had arrived, and an earlier press release said that he would visit the pediatric section of Maputo Central Hospital later on Sunday.

About 300 children with HIV and Aids are being treated with anti-retroviral drugs at the hospital, which is a beneficiary of Clinton Foundation funds.

Ira Magaziner, who heads the Clinton Foundation HIV/Aids Initiative, said in New York last week that the visit to Mozambique, Lesotho, South Africa, Tanzania, Kenya and Rwanda would seek to "reinvigorate political will" in those countries for scaling up Aids treatment programmes.

Clinton also plans to evaluate progress made by the foundation since 2003, a spokesperson said.

He will partly be following in the footsteps of US First Lady Laura Bush, who kicked off her own AIDS-related African tour - taking in South Africa, Tanzania and Rwanda - in Cape Town on Tuesday.

The Clinton Foundation's work in Africa has concentrated on helping governments design and implement AIDS treatment programmes, with a special focus on children, rural areas and widening access to affordable Aids drugs.

Mozambique, where up to 1.8 million people are estimated to be HIV positive is Clinton's first stop. Magaziner said the foundation had managed to increase the number of people under treatment from just several hundred two years ago to around 12 000.

Clinton is expected to meet with political and religious leaders throughout his tour in an effort to break down remaining resistance to expanding Aids initiatives.

- SAPA