Economic growth threatened by AIDS

In a report to its top donors on Monday, Kenya said HIV/AIDS, if left unchecked, would reduce per capita income by 14 percent and economic growth by 10 percent over the next five years. Although it has reduced the HIV prevalence rate from 14 percent in 1998 to 7 percent this year, more than US $592 million would be needed to fully fund the national AIDS campaign through 2010. According to Reuters, the report was released after it emerged that donors had grown reluctant to pledge more cash in the face of rampant corruption and the slow delivery of promised economic reforms. More than 2 million of Kenya's 30 million people are HIV-positive, and more than 200,000 die annually from AIDS-related illnesses.