Group of HIV-Positive Libyan Children To Be Sent to Europe for Treatment

A group of 30 HIV-positive Libyan children, who allegedly were infected with the virus by five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian physician, will be sent to Europe for treatment, Libyan officials said Monday, AFP/Yahoo! News reports (AFP/Yahoo! News, 2/13). Six health workers accused of infecting 400 Libyan children with HIV were sentenced to death by firing squad in May 2004. Libyan Supreme Court President Ali al-Alus on Dec. 25, 2005, overturned the convictions two days after Bulgaria, Libya, the U.S. and the European Union agreed to establish a fund to finance the children's care and treatment. The agreement did not mention the accused health workers, and Bulgarian officials said that the fund is part of an international effort to find an end to the situation (Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, 1/30). Saleh Abdel Salam, a director of the Kadhafi Foundation, said the first group of children will travel to France on Feb. 27 (AFP/Yahoo! News, 2/13). According to the Sofia News Agency, the children will be treated at five hospitals in Europe: three in Paris, one in Rome and one in Florence, Italy. The news was announced after a meeting in Tripoli, Libya, between the fund's governing board and a group representing the families of the children (Sofia News Agency, 2/13). According to Mark Pierini, E.U. ambassador to Libya, discussions concerning the fund are scheduled to resume on March 13. Pierini added that the meetings will last for several weeks (AFP/Yahoo! News, 2/13).