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Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin has announced that his country will contribute US $72 million to the World Health Organisation's (WHO) initiative to treat three million HIV-positive people in developing nations by the end of 2005.
Research shows that many people living with HIV/AIDS, especially in Africa, are dying because they do not have access to anti-AIDS drugs developed over the past decade.
According to the Canadian Press, Martin's announcement preceded a law passed this week in Canada that allows the production of low-cost drugs to treat AIDS and other killer diseases.
Despite changes to the bill, some leading international aid groups criticised the legislation as still being too friendly to commercial pharmaceutical companies.
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