Ireland on Friday through the Clinton Foundation HIV/AIDS Initiative pledged to provide $76.1 million and $12.6 million over the next five years to the health ministries of Mozambique and Lesotho, respectively, to help tackle HIV/AIDS, the AP/news24.com reports (AP/news24.com, 9/29). The agreement, signed by former President Clinton and Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern, makes Ireland the largest single country donor to the initiative (Irish Examiner, 9/29). "Since the end of his presidency, Bill Clinton has worked to transform AIDS from a death sentence into a manageable disease," Ahern said in a statement, adding, "He has brokered deals to make HIV drugs affordable and readily available. He has used his influence with world leaders to make the plight of their HIV-positive population a problem they could not ignore. Ireland is proud to support the president and the work of his foundation." The Irish government since 2003 has supported programs in Mozambique that provide antiretroviral drugs to more than 20,000 HIV-positive people at 38 clinics, as well as services at 83 clinics that help prevent mother-to-child HIV transmission during delivery (AP/news24.com, 9/29).

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