afrol News / PlusNews, 20 September - Brazil, Chile, Norway and the UK this week agreed to a US$300 million French plan to raise funds against HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis (TB) and malaria in Africa through an additional tax on airline tickets.

The initiative was announced during the 61st session of the UN General Assembly in New York on Tuesday, and aims to help some 200,000 HIV-positive children, 150,000 TB patients and 28 million people with malaria.

Unitaid, a new organisation based in Geneva, will administer the scheme, which has been structured to provide ongoing treatment solutions to people living with any of the three diseases.

"Through this initiative we'll have a sustainable way to assure a supply of drugs and tests for the long term," Ira Magaziner, a former US Presidential aide who heads the Unitaid's HIV/AIDS programme, told reporters.

© afrol News / PlusNews

Related pages and feature

Current afrol News Top Stories