Mandela Warns AIDS Still A Threat

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa - The world must not grow complacent about AIDS because the number of new HIV infections still outpaces the number of those being treated for the disease, former South African President Nelson Mandela said at a benefit concert Saturday.

Since stepping down as South Africa's first black president in 1999, Mandela, whose son died from the disease, has championed the cause of people with AIDS. On Saturday, he drew a crowd of about 15,000 to his fifth international awareness concert, held this year to coincide with World AIDS Day.

Recent U.N. figures estimate that the number of AIDS cases fell from almost 40 million last year to 33.2 million in 2007.

"This lower figure suggests that prevention programs have been successful in bringing down infection rates," Mandela said. "That trend is encouraging, but it is still alarming that for every person receiving treatment, four others are newly infected."

"If we are to stop the AIDS epidemic from expanding, we need to break the cycle of new HIV infections. All of us working together with government, communities and civil society can make the difference that is needed. Together we have the power to change the course of destiny," he said to applause.

Wearing a sweat shirt emblazoned with 46664, the number apartheid prison authorities gave him, the 89-year-old statesman beamed and waved at the crowd, who chanted his name.

Of South Africa's 48 million people, about 5.5 million are infected with the AIDS virus - the highest number in the world - and about 900 people in the country die every day from the disease.

Sub-Saharan Africa remains the center of the epidemic. AIDS is still the leading cause of death there; it particularly affects women and children.

Speaking at a World Aids Day event elsewhere in the country, President Thabo Mbeki, who has been criticized for his handling of the AIDS crisis, said that the government's plea to South Africans to be faithful and use condoms was not being heeded.