Indian President Proposes Cooperation With South Africa on HIV/AIDS

Indian President Abdul Kalam on Wednesday while visiting South Africa proposed that India and South Africa -- the two countries with the largest number of HIV-positive people -- begin working together to fight HIV/AIDS, Indo-Asian News Service/newkerala.com reports. Kalam, who is the first Indian president to visit South Africa and address its parliament, said that the two countries should work together to fight HIV/AIDS and other problems common to both nations -- such as poverty and other diseases -- and become a model for partnership between developed and developing nations. Kalam said, "It is time that the national and international agencies join together to mount a concerted program in eliminating" HIV/AIDS and other communicable diseases (Indo-Asian News Service/newkerala.com, 9/15). "We are concerned about [South Africa's] health problems," Kalam said, adding, "We have developed a drug in India that can arrest the development of HIV/AIDS, and it is being produced," AFP/Yahoo! News reports. He did not give any further details about the drug, according to AFP/Yahoo! News (AFP/Yahoo! News, 9/15). He also said, "India has ventured into the field of anti-AIDS vaccine and it is in the stage of undergoing various tests" (Indo-Asian News Service/newkerala.com, 9/15). He did not give any further details about the drug or vaccine development. Indian generic drug maker Cipla is a major producer of antiretroviral drugs (AFP/Yahoo! News, 9/15).