Congressional Delegation To Travel to South Africa, U.S. Ambassador Says at Opening of Medical Research Institute
A U.S. congressional delegation, led by Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.), will visit South Africa within the next month to focus on HIV/AIDS, U.S. Ambassador to South Africa Cameron Hume said yesterday in Durban, South Africa, at the official opening of the Doris Duke Medical Research Institute, a specialized center for research on HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, cancer and other communicable diseases, of the Nelson R. Mandela School of Medicine of the University of Natal, the SAPA/Mail & Guardian reports. Hume told guests at the opening that "President Bush and his administration are deeply concerned about HIV/AIDS and strongly committed to combating the disease." The new facility will have 10 specialized laboratories that will contribute to the "scientific arsenal against the HIV/AIDS pandemic," Hume said (SAPA/Mail & Guardian, 7/29). The institute will train new clinical researchers, enhance the clinical research infrastructure of KwaZulu-Natal -- the province with the highest HIV/AIDS prevalence in South Africa -- and cultivate collaborations between South African research groups and other countries. The $5.17 million institute was funded by two $1.8 million grants from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and money raised and contributed by the University of Natal (DDCF release, 7/28).
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