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Clinton asks Zanzibaris to be more open about HIV/AIDS

    ZANZIBAR

    Former US President Bill Clinton was in Tanzania's island of Zanzibar on Thursday asking people there to break the silence on HIV/AIDS issues.

    "My message to the people of Zanzibar is that they should accept to undergo voluntary HIV/AIDS tests to prevent new infections and make sure there is no discrimination and stigma to those living with HIV," Clinton said after visiting patients at an HIV/AIDS clinic in Zanzibar's main hospital called Mnazi Mmoja.

    HIV/AIDS activists say that people in Zanzibar tend to be ashamed of discussing the disease openly. Health officials estimate that about 6,000 of Zanzibar's population of one million are HIV-positive.

    Clinton is on the fourth leg of a six-nation Africa tour that has taken him to Mozambique, Lesotho and South Africa. He is due to visit Kenya on Friday and Rwanda the following day.

    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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