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The Presidential ostrich

AIDS is widespread in Africa. Some countries, over opposition from the Vatican or lack of support or aid from the US, are trying to "attack" the scourge with education and health facilities and support.

Enter the President of South Africa, either living in denial or being plainly ostrich-like - as The Independent reports:

"The fight against Aids in South Africa, the epicentre of the global pandemic, has been dealt a devastating blow.

President Thabo Mbeki stunned and outraged campaigners yesterday by sacking the country's deputy health minister, the woman credited with ending a decade of Aids denialism at the heart of the South African political leadership.

Activists fear that the decision spells a disastrous political regression on Aids, which could cost the lives of hundreds of thousands of people. More than 1,000 people a day in South Africa die of Aids. One in 10 is HIV positive, which is significantly higher than anywhere else in the world. And 1,400 people are newly infected with HIV every day. But only a third of those who need life-saving Aids drugs receive them."

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