NAIROBI, Sept 4 (AFP) - Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania on Wednesday launched a joint AIDS awareness campaign aimed at stemming the spread of the disease which has affected more than 5.3 million people in the three countries, officials said.
"The three health ministries decided to be pro-active and take a joint message to the people on what it takes to reverse the rate of AIDS infections in our countries," Kenya's Health Minister Sam Ongeri told reporters before the launch of the east African AIDS campaign in Nairobi.
At the launch ceremony for the campaign Tanzania's deputy minister for health, Hussein Ali Mwinyi called for a concerted collective effort to save millions of lives in the region.
"The fight against AIDS demands close cooperation between nations in charting out and implementing proven cost-effective interventions that would slow down the rate of HIV spread in our countries," added Mwinyi.
Uganda's Health Minister Jim Muhwezi said borders should not hamper efforts to fight the spread of the disease.
"Working together (with Kenya and Tanzania) will assure me that AIDS will not sneak back into Uganda any time," said Muhwezi.
Uganda is the only country in sub-Saharan Africa where a decline in the rate of AIDS infections has been observed.
Musical events will be used in the campaign to highlight the dangers posed by the AIDS pandemic to the region's people. Several international pop groups, inluding US-based Kool and the Gang, will perform in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania starting October 8.
The campaigns sponsors include US-based lobby group, Africa United Against Aids Globally (AUAAG), which groups several African-American organisations and Kenya's National Hospital and Insurance Fund (NHIF).
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