Zambia to address abuse of girls

An international rights group on Thursday welcomed Zambia's commitment to address allegations of widespread sexual abuse of young girls. Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in a statement that the Zambian government had promised to address the issue through the establishment of an "inter-ministerial programme". The move follows a damning report in January by HRW, claiming that local girls were five times more likely to be infected with HIV than boys due to widespread sexual abuse. "It is no accident that HIV prevalence is five times higher among girls than boys under age 18 in Zambia," HRW African director, Janet Fleischmann, said at the launch of the report. HRW said it would follow up closely on the government's commitment when the programme was established.