Clinton to Unveil Progress in AIDS Treatment for Children

On Thursday, former President Clinton will join French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy and India's ruling Congress Party leader Sonia Gandhi in New Delhi to highlight progress in expanding access to pediatric AIDS treatment, his foundation said Monday. Clinton's announcement will take place on the eve of World AIDS Day, Friday, Dec. 1.

Clinton will visit several areas where his foundation's HIV/AIDS initiative operates, including Cambodia, Vietnam and Papua New Guinea. The foundation has helped negotiate deep antiretroviral (ARV) discounts and expanded care and treatment. More than 400,000 HIV/AIDS patients receive ARVs though Clinton's HIV/AIDS initiative, the foundation said.

In 2005, the initiative established an office in Cambodia, where 1.9 percent of people in the population of 13.8 million have HIV -- Southeast Asia's highest prevalence. Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said in a national radio address Monday that Clinton would visit "in the next few days." In Vietnam, news reports suggested Clinton would meet with government officials about HIV/AIDS prevention next week and visit a foundation-supported treatment clinic.

As a special UN envoy, Clinton also plans to visit Thailand and Indonesia, which are recovering from the 2004 tsunami that killed 220,000 people.

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