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Over 2 Million HIV Infected
in Latin America
UNICEF will launch a campaign
against AIDS in Latin America
this week, following a UNICEF
report which indicates that more
than two million Latin Americans
are infected with AIDS.
The AIDS campaign was announced
at the regional forums in
session in San Salvador, and
will have the slogan "Latin
America and the Caribbean
Respond to AIDS, Let Us Commit
Ourselves to Life."
UNICEF reported that the Latin
American countries with greatest
infection are Guatemala, Belize,
Honduras, Panama, Jamaica,
Barbados and the Dominican
Republic.
"These are some of the many
countries with more than one
percent of their population
infected," said Nils Katsberg,
UNICEF Director for Latin
America and the Caribbean.
Katsberg said that many babies
have AIDS in Latin America.
"Children and adolescents
infected with AIDS or affected
by their parents death are the
hidden face of an epidemic
touching 40 million people in
the world," said UNICEF delegate
for El Salvador Miriam Figueroa.
It is estimated that more than
1,400 children under 15 die in
the world every day because of
AIDS and another 1,000 young
people between 15 and 24 become
infected.
Stopping AIDS transmission is
the objective of the campaign to
be launched Friday by UNICEF at
the end of a Presidents of the
Central American Integration
System summit, which is also
seeking strategies to fight
AIDS.
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