Powell underscores US commitment to AIDS battle

NAIROBI: US Secretary of State Colin Powell met Saturday with a group of Kenyan youths to underscore Washington’s commitment to battling AIDS, which he called the world’s “greatest weapon of mass destruction.” Powell, who arrived Friday from a tour of areas ravaged by the Asian tsunami, spent half an hour with 19 Kenyans aged 11 to 27 discussing various AIDS prevention programs, from abstinence to the use of condoms. He said the administration of President George W Bush had committed 15 billion dollars to the global fight against the killer disease in addition to research in the United States. “It really is the greatest weapon of mass destruction in the world today,” Powell told the representatives of various youth groups combatting AIDS in Kenya, where infection rates are high. “It’s a destroyer of societies. It’s a destroyer of economies,” he said. Africa accounts for 25 million out of the estimated 38 million people across the world infected with HIV. US figures show 1.2 million Kenyans infected, and 140,000 adults dying from AIDS each year. afp

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