Heifer International Approves Plan to Address AIDS in Africa

An international relief organization said it has embarked on a three-year strategic plan to deal with the AIDS epidemic in Africa. Last year, Heifer International hired Dr. Japheth K. Mati, 63, of Nairobi, Kenya, as an HIV/AIDS consultant to determine if the organization should devise a plan called the "Africa AIDS Initiative." After months of research, Mati, an obstetrician and gynecologist, met in Little Rock, Ark., last week with the international agency's board, which approved the plan. It will operate in 11 African countries and cost about $3 million dollars, officials said. The plan calls for the agency's networks to increase AIDS awareness, boost education efforts and persuade HIV-infected mothers to use goat milk instead of breast milk to feed their children. "This is something I wished more nations like the US would do," Mati said Monday at the organization's headquarters.

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