Vatican-led project on front lines of fight against AIDS in Africa
July 15, 2011
The Good Samaritan Foundation, founded by Pope John Paul II in 2004, is a leading force in the struggle against AIDS in southern Africa. Msgr. Jean-Marie Mupendawatu, the secretary of the Pontifical Council for Health Care, described the work of the foundation in an interview with L’Osservatore Romano.
A goal of the foundation is “to ensure ensure the free distribution of antiretroviral drugs to those who are infected,” Msgr. Mupendawatu said. That step alone, UN officials have said, would “double the life expectancy of people with HIV from 11 to 22 years.”
The foundation also supports laboratory research and diagnostic work, efforts to help prevent mothers from passing an HIV infection on to their children, and “education transmits the values of life, of the family and of responsible sexuality.”
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