Mbeki visits vaccine lab

South Africa President Thabo Mbeki, who has been criticised for not taking a stronger stand on HIV/AIDS, followed up a meeting with President Bush by accepting an invitation to visit a US laboratory working on an HIV/AIDS vaccine, AP reported on Wednesday. Mbeki has been notably absent from a UN conference on HIV/AIDS under way in New York, where a vote was expected on Wednesday on a plan for fighting AIDS and HIV and increasing funding for the effort. South Africa has the largest number of people living with HIV or AIDS, 4.7 million, or about 11 percent of the population. He visited a Merck Pharmaceuticals research facility at West Point. The company is working on an HIV/AIDS vaccine and is among a group of HIV/AIDS drug makers that have agreed to lower prices to help African nations hit hard by the HIV/AIDS epidemic. “We have operations in South Africa, and Mr. Gilmartin wanted Mr. Mbeki to see the kind of work we are doing,” Merck spokesman Greg Reaves said. On Tuesday, Bush and Mbeki opened their White House meeting by outlining an agenda that lacked direct reference to HIV or AIDS. Both defended their positions on AIDS, saying they support the newly established global AIDS trust fund and calling for “urgently needed” additional efforts to address AIDS and other diseases. “The AIDS pandemic in Africa is terrible,” Bush said. Mbeki said allegations that he has not done enough to address the spread of AIDS in his country are out of order. “People must look at what we’re doing in South Africa, not their perception of what they think we’re doing,” Mbeki said.