U.S. GIVES $250 MILLION TO ETHIOPIA FOR HIV

The U.S. ambassador and chargé d'affaires to Ethiopia announced earlier this week at the National Symposium on the Use and Management of Antiretroviral Treatment that the U.S. will donate a sum of $250 million to combat HIV/AIDS in the country, according to a local news source, The Daily Monitor.

The ambassador, Vicki Huddleston, said the country was one of 15 beneficiary countries receiving money from the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPAR), according to the Monitor article.

The symposium brought together health leaders to look at ways of integrating treatment with prevention efforts and scaling up antiretroviral treatment. The meeting was funded by PEPFAR and was organized through Johns Hopkins University, which provides support for antiretroviral treatment in Ethiopia's capital, Addis Ababa.

According to the minister of health, the number of people who are in need of antiretroviral treatment in Ethiopia is estimated to be about 270,000, and the government plans to provide treatment to 100,000 people through the end of 2006, reports The Daily Monitor.