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US $15 billion approved for AIDS war

    JOHANNESBURG

    The US House of Representatives on Thursday approved a bill which more than doubles its contribution to the global fight against HIV/AIDS.

    Funds provided by the US $15 billion bill, to be spent over five years, will go towards the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of HIV/AIDS in the Caribbean and most of Africa.

    "It is no exaggeration to compare the HIV/AIDS pandemic in Africa to the bubonic plague in medieval Europe," chairperson of the House Committee on International Relations, Henry Hyde, said in a statement.

    Some 42 million people worldwide are living with HIV/AIDS, 29.4 million of whom live in Africa.

    "Left unchecked, this plague will further rip the fabric of developing societies, pushing fragile governments to the point of collapse," Hyde added.

    This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

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