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Govt probes AIDS asylum reports

    JOHANNESBURG

    The South African government said on Sunday it had contacted the Canadian authorities after reports that a large number of its HIV-positive nationals have allegedly applied for asylum in the North American country after attending last month's 16th International AIDS Conference in Toronto.

    Canada's Toronto Sun newspaper reported that 130 of the 157 asylum seekers were South Africa women.

    Ronnie Mamoepa, a spokesman for South Africa's foreign ministry, said his department could only verify these numbers once it had received evidence from the Canadian government.

    Thousands of delegates from countries across the world attended the conference, at which the South African government's response to the pandemic was severely criticised.

    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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