YAOUNDE, Dec 3 (AFP) - A fund raiser for AIDS victims was held in Yaounde, Cameroon at the weekend as part of efforts to sensitize people about the virus and raise money for treatment, officials said Monday.
The event, which raised 62,600 dollars, was launched by Cameroon's prime minister to mark World AIDS on Saturday, as demonstrations in support of AIDS sufferers and education unfurled in the capital.
Prime Minister Peter Mafany Musonge, who contributed 10 million CFA francs (13,600 dollars) to the fund, said 11 percent of people in Cameroon were HIV-positive, with 600 new infections every day.
"The solidarity fund will permit access to people living with HIV/AIDS to treatment and to anti-retroviral (medication)," the prime minister said.
"It will also contribute to supporting orphans with AIDS," he added.
Cameroon President Paul Biya, who was following the event which was broadcast on radio and television, also sent a donation whose amount was undisclosed.
Artists participated in the fund raiser by singing and doing theatre sketches.
Popular Cameroonian musician Manu Dibango offered a saxophone to be auctioned off.
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