NEW DELHI, Dec 6 (AFP) - India has signed an agreement with the United Nations World Food Programme to provide food aid to those suffering from HIV/AIDS, a report said Monday.
"The agreement makes food and nutrition an integral part of government strategy to fight HIV/AIDS," Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss was quoted as saying by the Press Trust of India news agency.
"As it is, we have a commitment to give AIDS treatment to 100,000 people by the end of 2007. Nutrition would be added to this as a supplement," Ramadoss said.
India, with an estimated 5.1 million cases of HIV/AIDS cases, is second only to South Africa in the number of infections and the government has been accused by health groups of dragging its feet over the problem.
A healthy diet could help delay the onset of AIDS in HIV-positive people by making them less susceptible to infections, executive director of the World Food Programme, James Morris was quoted as saying.
"The agreement is a massive leap forward in ensuring nutritional care and support to people living with HIV/AIDS," Morris said, adding the World Food Programme had promised to provide about one million dollars for the project.
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