CAPE TOWN, Dec 1 (AFP) - South Africa led countries marking World AIDS Day in southern Africa, the world region hardest hit by AIDS, with top personalities such as Nobel laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Irish rocker Bono taking part in events Monday around the country.
South Africa is the country worst affected by the disease, with about 5.3 million of a population of 44.8 million infected with HIV or AIDS. A South African dies of AIDS every 10 minutes, SABC television said Monday.
The most colourful event occurred in Cape Town where some 400 activists -- many sporting T-shirts adorned with "HIV Positive" -- held a march.
Irish rocker Bono, in a surprise appearance at the rally, said the real heroes of the day were people living with the disease.
"I want you to know we live in an age of celebrity where if you're an actor or a rock star or a hiphop star, you're supposed to be some kind of hero. But really that is bollocks. Real heroes are mothers, firemen, people with HIV who are struggling against all odds."
The march was organised by Treatment Action Campaign (TAC), which spearheaded a civil disobedience campaign to get Pretoria to provide treatment to those infected, and the country's premier trade union COSATU.
Tutu, the retired archbishop of Cape Town, and Peter Piot, the head of the United Nations AIDS agency, UNAIDS, chaired a seminar entitled "HIV/AIDS: Lessons for the World from South Africa" at Cape Town University.
Tutu compared the fight against AIDS to the struggle against apartheid.
South Africa last week announced that some 46 million dollars (38 million euros) would be allocated for the rest of the fiscal year -- until March 31 -- to fight the disease, but said that people with the highest levels of the virus in their blood would receive priority treatment.
Deputy President Jacob Zuma called for concerted action, saying "combating HIV and AIDS is the responsibility of every South African."
"The government's biggest HIV and AIDS communications campaign, Khomanani (caring together), has targeted men as one of the foundations of family and society, and as care-givers, husbands and partners, and as fathers and as sons."
Khomanani has been adopted as the theme for this year's World's AIDS day. The campaign is South Africa's biggest HIV/AIDS awareness drive.
Monday's events in South Africa came on the heels of a gala weekend concert in Cape Town by some of the biggest names in the music industry, who responded to a call by South African former president Nelson Mandela to raise funds to fight the scourge.
In Botswana, where nearly 40 percent of sexually active people are infected with the disease, President Festus Mogae made an impassioned plea to stem AIDS.
"Unless each and every one of us takes it upon ourselves to utilise the free antiretroviral therapy (ARV), the HIV testing, and the prevention of mother-to-child transmission services that are available, we have only ourselves to blame for our suffering."
"It is hard to be here today and not reflect on the fact that about one third of us are most probably infected with the HIV," he said.
In Malawi, Vice President Justin Malewezi blamed the stigmatisation of HIV/AIDS sufferers for the low percentage of people going for HIV tests.
Speaking in the northern border district of Karonga, Malewezi said although at least 90 percent of the 11 million population knew about AIDS only three percent went in for testing.
"It also makes it difficult to put together comprehensive programmes to fight the pandemic," he said.
In other southern African countries such as Zambia, Lesotho, Swaziland and Angola the day was marked by rallies and official speeches but the events were largely low key.
Events to mark World AIDS Day in Namibia included an essay competition for children and a day-long music event in the capital, Windhoek.
The Mozambique government on Monday blamed resistance to change, taboos and other conservate norms for the continued spread of HIV/AIDS in the southern African state.
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