US must reconsider HIV/AIDS relief fund

A Mbabane-based NGO on Tuesday said it was disappointed by Swaziland's exclusion from the recently announced US emergency relief fund targeting countries most affected by HIV/AIDS. The tiny southern African country was not included in the list of countries to benefit from President George W. Bush's proposal for congress to triple spending on HIV/AIDS in the most affected nations of Africa and the Caribbean. The AIDS Information and Support Centre (TASC) said recent reports of a breakdown in the rule of law and allegations of government overexpediture had contributed to the country being overlooked. "The US must move its attention away from government mismanagement and look to the NGOs who are struggling to save lives," TASC's head of programmes, Harriet Kunene told the UN news service Plusnews. Kunene added that future grants would be in "safer hands" were it channelled directly to NGOs.