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Tackle AIDS and TB together - Mandela

    JOHANNESBURG

    Efforts to combat tuberculosis (TB) should be included in the global fight against HIV/AIDS, former South African President Nelson Mandela told the 15th International AIDS Conference in Bangkok, Thailand.

    Research shows that some 14 million of the estimated 38 million HIV-positive people worldwide are co-infected with TB, of whom 70 percent live in sub-Saharan Africa.

    During his address on Thursday Mandela said: "The world has made defeating HIV/AIDS its top priority. This is a blessing, but TB remains ignored. We cannot win the battle against HIV and AIDS if we do not also fight TB."

    Although a cure for TB has existed for the past five decades, Mandela noted that the "will and the resources to quickly diagnose people with TB and get them the treatment they need" has been lacking.

    A video webcast of Mandela's address and other coverage of the 15th International AIDS Conference is available online at:
    http://www.kaisernetwork.org/aids2004

    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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