HEILIGENDAMM, June 7 (RIA Novosti) - Leaders of the Group of Eight industrialized nations are expected to approve Friday a U.S. initiative to allocate extra $60 billion to help Africa fight infectious diseases, a source in the Russian delegation said Thursday.
U.S. President George W. Bush proposed on the eve of the G8 summit in northern Germany to allocate $60 billion to support global efforts to fight infectious diseases in Africa.
"This is one of the breakthroughs of this summit," the Russian official said, adding that it was a substantial addition to the existing humanitarian aid programs in Africa.
"A substantial part of these [new] funds will be used to combat AIDS, TB, malaria, and to strengthen the health system [in African countries], the source said.
Africa is the world region most affected by infectious diseases. Inhabited by just over 12% of the world's population, Africa is estimated to have more than 60% of the AIDS-infected population.
