Mandela sounds alarm on TB in AIDS fight

BANGKOK – The global war on AIDS could be lost if the world ignores tuberculosis, often a death sentence for people infected with HIV, former South African president Nelson Mandela said yesterday.

“The world has made defeating AIDS its top priority. This is a blessing, but TB remains ignored,” the frail Nobel laureate said at a global conference in Bangkok.Mandela, one of the world’s leading AIDS campaigners, will address 17 000 delegates today at a candle-lit closing ceremony to end a week of bickering over Washington’s drug and funding policies.A fierce critic of the Bush administration over Iraq, Mandela steered clear of the controversy to focus on the plight of millions suffering from HIV and TB.About 14 million people are infected with HIV and TB 70 per cent living in sub-Saharan Africa, the region hardest hit by HIV-AIDS, which has killed 20 million people worldwide.HIV, the virus which causes AIDS, destroys the immune system and makes patients more vulnerable to diseases such as tuberculosis, an infectious illness that accounts for up to one-third of all HIV-AIDS deaths.”We cannot win the battle against AIDS if we do not also fight TB.TB is too often a death sentence for people with AIDS.It does not have to be this way,” Mandela said.- Nampa-ReutersThis is a blessing, but TB remains ignored,” the frail Nobel laureate said at a global conference in Bangkok.Mandela, one of the world’s leading AIDS campaigners, will address 17 000 delegates today at a candle-lit closing ceremony to end a week of bickering over Washington’s drug and funding policies.A fierce critic of the Bush administration over Iraq, Mandela steered clear of the controversy to focus on the plight of millions suffering from HIV and TB.About 14 million people are infected with HIV and TB 70 per cent living in sub-Saharan Africa, the region hardest hit by HIV-AIDS, which has killed 20 million people worldwide.HIV, the virus which causes AIDS, destroys the immune system and makes patients more vulnerable to diseases such as tuberculosis, an infectious illness that accounts for up to one-third of all HIV-AIDS deaths.”We cannot win the battle against AIDS if we do not also fight TB.TB is too often a death sentence for people with AIDS.It does not have to be this way,” Mandela said.- Nampa-Reuters