Peace corps volunteers to expand fight against AIDS in africa, elsewhere
Regional, Health, 6/28/2000

US Peace Corps volunteers will expand the fight against AIDS in Africa, where the epidemic now kills 10 times more people annually than does war.

Peace Corps Director Mark Schneider announced Tuesday that the 2,400 corps volunteers in Africa will be trained in AIDS prevention. A "crisis corps" of 200 former Peace Corps volunteers will be organized to join the Americans there now, he said.

The United Nations and the World Health Organization estimate that in sub-Saharan Africa alone, 24.5 million people live with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.

Emphasizing the serious nature of the crisis in a recent speech, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan cited sobering statistics. "Africa's southern and eastern region, with less than 5 percent of the world's population, is home to more than 50 percent of those living with HIV," he said.

Across the continent, the disease has already killed 11 million people -- amounting to 80 percent of total world AIDS deaths. Africans account for about 13 percent of the world population.

The Peace Corps Volunteers' work is to include enhancing nutrition for people living with AIDS, educating those who are vulnerable, training community workers in prevention, increasing income of those affected and developing leadership among youth for peer counseling.

During the next three years, as many as 5,000 Americans will work in villages, towns and cities, reaching tens of thousands of co-workers who, in turn, can reach hundreds of thousands of people.

Schneider said the new effort to combat AIDS will also include countries outside Africa. More than 7,000 Peace Corps volunteers are serving in 77 countries. Their work includes helping people develop sources of clean water, teaching children to read and assisting with new business development.

Peace Corps volunteers work in many African nations, including Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Cote D'Ivoire, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Togo, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Previous Stories:
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  Algeria holds drug addition, AIDS, hepatitis colloquium   (5/5/2000)
  African biology, health congress scheduled in April   (3/31/2000)

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