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South African Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang has urged poor nations to bring problems that leave them more vulnerable to HIV/AIDS than developed countries to the attention of the UN.
At the launch of the National Consultative Forum in Johannesburg, which provides an opportunity for interaction between the Department of Health, other stakeholders and civil society, Tshabalala-Msimang said she planned to raise some of these issues during the UN General Assembly Special Session on HIV/AIDS (UNGASS) in New York later this month.
The South African Press Association quoted her as saying, "The UN special session is critical, as it is going to significantly influence the nature of the global response to the challenge of AIDS in South Africa and other African countries."
The UNGASS meeting, from 31 May to 1 June, will review progress in implementing the Declaration of Commitment on AIDS, adopted by the General Assembly in 2001.
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