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Mandela calls for Aids action
10/09/2002 13:05 - (SA)
Johannesburg - Former president Nelson Mandela has made an impassioned plea for help with children orphaned by HIV/Aids.
The former president was addressing the Africa Leadership
Consultation, a group that was formed at his and Graça Machel's behest to help children left parentless by the pandemic.
He said action was now needed: "We have reached such an advanced stage in this spread of the
Aids pandemic that there is almost no time left for merely feeling, thinking and talking. We are in the middle of a war that is wreaking havoc and destruction.
"Concrete action is what is required every day and every hour.
This meeting, too, should lead to immediate and urgent practical
outcomes.
"Of course, we need to do careful planning and deliberation about the actions we shall take, but every moment spent on deliberation that does not lead to decisive action is a moment tragically wasted."
Mandela told the 60-strong audience that included Anglican
Archbishop Njongonkulu Ndungane and Rwanda's first lady, Jeanette
Kagane, that they had to come up with concrete and practical ideas to mobilise and use resources to help the children.
"This group is small enough for us to have meaningful
discussions without unnecessarily spending time and energy on
theory and intellectual debates."
- SAPA
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