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AIDS assistance for developing world militaries

Halting the spread of HIV/AIDS among the world's militaries has become a key objective for the US Defence Department's international assistance programmes, a senior official has said.

Dr Richard Shaffer, the director of the Department of Defence's AIDS Prevention Programme, said the impact of the disease on militaries around the world had evolved into a security threat for nations everywhere.

Shaffer said in a statement: "By offering [our] assistance to foreign militaries in establishing or enhancing their HIV/AIDS education and preventative programmes, we feel that the US military can contribute toward the curtailment of the [global] pandemic."

Shaffer said the programme, now into its fourth year, had received US $35 million from Congress to assist partnering militaries around the world.


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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