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HIV/AIDS explosion looming - UN

    JOHANNESBURG

    Africa is on the verge of an HIV/AIDS explosion as 8,000 people now become infected daily, the UN warned on Thursday.

    Alan Whiteside, a member of the Commission on HIV/AIDS and Governance in Africa, told a conference in Addis Ababa, "If we think we are seeing an impact today, we have to brace ourselves, because it is set to get very much worse in the future."

    The 20-member commission, which is currently meeting with health experts and politicians in the Ethiopian capital, called for a massive scaling-up of treatment to prevent the collapse of societies under the weight of the AIDS pandemic.

    It is estimated that only 50,000 Africans have access to antiretroviral drugs, while at least four million people are in urgent need of treatment.

    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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