US AIDS millions to be disbursed

Zambia will benefit from a US $66 million grant to tackle HIV/AIDS in 2004, Martin Brennan, the US Ambassador to the country has said. Brennan told Reuters in an interview that Washington would release about $15 million in the next few weeks and the balance would be made available by July, with more to follow if the funds were well spent. The ambassador said, "Zambia is going to receive $66 million this year... This is fast-track money to maximize the fight against HIV/AIDS." More than half the grant is expected to be used for the purchase of antiretroviral drugs, which will be distributed free of charge to HIV-positive people unable to afford them.