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President's shock warning on AIDS

    JOHANNESBURG

    Botswana's President Festus Mogae has warned that the country cannot sustain the current high rate of HIV infection and that people should "abstain from unsafe sex, or die".

    With an estimated 37 percent of the population HIV-positive, Botswana is one of the hardest-hit nations in the world.

    But the country is often presented as a model for the roll-out of anti-AIDS drugs in Africa, funded by the Bill Gates and Merck foundations.

    However, during an interview timed to coincide with World AIDS Day, Mogae said overseas funding of drugs would not go on indefinitely, and Botswana could not afford on its own to keep up with the rising number of infected people.

    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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