$88m for HIV programmes

2006-09-29 12:48

Dublin, Ireland - Ireland committed $88.7m on Friday to the global foundation run by former US President Bill Clinton, becoming the largest national contributor to its programme fighting HIV and Aids.

Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern and Clinton signed an agreement committing Ireland to pay $76.1m to the Health Ministry of Mozambique and $12.6m to the Health Ministry of Lesotho over the next five years.

Clinton and Ahern posed for photographs at the signing but did not take questions.

"Since the end of his presidency, Bill Clinton has worked to transform Aids from a death sentence into a manageable disease," Ahern said.

"He has brokered deals to make HIV drugs affordable and readily available. He has used his influence with world leaders to make the plight of their HIV-positive population a problem they could not ignore. Ireland is proud to support the president and the work of his foundation."

The Irish government said more than 16% of the population in Mozambique had HIV. It said work there to suppress the transmission of HIV, partly funded by Ireland since 2003, meant that more than 20 000 people were receiving anti-retroviral drugs from 38 clinics, while 83 clinics were offering services designed to prevent the transmission of HIV from mother to child during delivery.

On the net:

www.clintonfoundation.org

- AP