India: 300 million young people ‘not getting sex education’
Shyness about sex education in India is fuelling the spread of HIV and Aids, according to Agence France Press. The news agency quotes the director of the Centre for Health and Development, Rakesh Kumar, as saying that there are about 300 million young people in India aged between 12 and 24 and that many have “a growing preference for pre-marital sex.” “The government has no plans for the sexual health education of this group,” Kumar said. Nearly four million Indians have HIV, the largest positive population in the world after South Africa, but unofficial figures are closer to five million.
Global Fund money ‘will go out by end of year’
The British head of the Global Fund to Fight Aids, TB and Malaria has promised that over $500 million will be given to projects around the world by the end of 2002. Executive director Richard Feacham’s commitment comes after accusations that the fund had yet to pass on a single penny. The Fund is believed to have $2.1 billion in the bank with the US as the largest donor ($500 million) followed by Britain, Italy and Japan with $200 million each.