Fund to Fight HIV / AIDS Eliminates Restrictions on Cuba

Havana, Nov 1. – The executive director of the Global Fund to Fight HIV / AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, Michel Kazatchkine, said the removal of restrictions of that organization with regard to Cuba, nattional media stressed.

Our priority is to notify the lifting of certain restrictions that for several years the international community imposed a dozen countries, including Cuba, Kazatchkine said in dialogue with the newspaper Juventud Rebelde this Sunday.

"After noting the work being done here in terms of prevention and care for people infected and the population in general itâ�Ös a great pleasure to personally announce the cessation of such prohibitions" Kazatchkine said.

So he said, Cuba may have a better use of resources sent by the Fund, composed of governments, the 144 countries civil society, the private sector and affected communities. Kazatchkine praised Cubaâ�Ös results, which has the lowest prevalence rate of HIV / AIDS in the Caribbean region and is among the 22 countries least affected by this virus.

He said he sees promise in the search for a vaccine against the AIDS pandemic, but added that the Global Fund does not fund such research, but focuses more on access to treatment for those infected.

Reports of the World Health Organization cited by the newspaper show that in the world 33 million people are infected and only in 2008 two million patients died.(Prensa Latina)