KIGALI, Dec 3 (AFP) - US Health Secretary Tommy Thompson was in Rwanda on Wednesday heading a large delegation on a five-state African tour aimed at boosting the war against AIDS.
Thompson arrived in Rwanda on Tuesday, when he visited a memorial to the 1994 genocide and a clinic treating AIDS patients and met with President Paul Kagame and Health Minister Abel Dushimimana.
"They have come to see what concrete measures have been taken against AIDS," the minister told journalists.
Thompson said the US Centers for Disease Control would next year work with the Rwandan ministry to "determine the HIV/AIDS prevalence rates in Rwanda" and to reduce them.
Some 13 percent of Rwandans are thought to be HIV positive.
Rwanda is the third leg of the tour, which began with a stopover in Cameroon and a visit to Zambia.
The delegation was expected in Kenya later Wednesday and to continue to Uganda.
"We want to see which programmes are working and then fund those programmes and then get antiretrovirals to the people who need them, as soon as possible," Thompson said when asked to explain the purpose of his visit.
031203
AF031246
©AFP 2003. All Rights Reserved. AFP articles contained on the AEGiS web site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without AFP's prior written permission. You may make one copy of each article for your personal, non-commercial use only; more copies would require AFP's prior written permission. obtained from the owners of any trademarks or copyrighted materials whose marks and materials are included in AFP photos or materials. Therefore you will be solely responsible for obtaining any and all necessary releases from whatever individuals and/or entities necessary for any uses of AFP stories, photos or graphics. - http://www.afp.com/
AEGiS is made possible through unrestricted grants from Boehringer Ingelheim, the National Library of Medicine, and donations from users like you. Always watch for outdated information. This article first appeared in 2003. This material is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between you and your doctor.
©1990, 2003 - AEGiS. AEGiS presents published material, reprinted with permission and neither endorses nor opposes any material. All materials appearing on AEGiS are protected by copyright as a collective work or compilation under U.S. copyright and other laws and are the property of AEGiS, or the party credited as the provider of the content.
