DAKAR, Dec 6, 2007 (AFP) - Youssou Ndour of Senegal was among more than three dozen of Africa's leading musicians who launched Thursday an album in aid of an AIDS-free generation.
The album contains 11 original titles by 37 of the continent's most famous musicians such as Cesaria Evora of Cape Verde, Cheb Mami of Algeria and Manu Dibango of Cameroon.
It is "the starting point of a real battle against AIDS and not just words in the air," said Senegalese rapper Didier Awadi at a ceremony to launch the album.
"People no longer have trust in the leadership, they trust men on the street and as we are from the streets, they listen to us," said Awadi.
Sung in various African tones and 11 different languages, the album will be distributed freely to radio and television stations in all the countries on the continent.
Although sub-Saharan Africa is home to just over 10 percent of the world's population, it is the most ravaged by HIV, carrying more than 60 percent of all people living with the virus that causes AIDS.
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