The head of an official group preparing for the establishment of the Global HIV/AIDS and Health Fund said he is optimistic about securing necessary financial contributions, despite deepening concerns over a global recession.
Chrispus Kiyonga, chairman of the transitional working group, said he was confident the mission would not be hurt by worries that terrorist attacks in New York and Washington on Sept. 11 would spark a further downturn in the global economy.
Leaders of the Group of Eight industrialized nations agreed in Genoa in July to set up the new fund by the end of this year in an attempt to turn around the spread of AIDS and other infectious diseases by 2010.