MANZINI, Swaziland and LOS ANGELES, September 24 /PRNewswire/ --

- US' Largest AIDS Group Joins Forces with AMICAALL and FLAS, PSI, the 
Ministry of Health, Kingdom of Swaziland and the Manzini City Council in 
Partnership to Provide Life-saving Anti-retroviral AIDS Therapy at New Free 
Treatment Center

AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), has joined together with AMICAALL (The
Alliance of Mayors Initiative for Community Action on AIDS at the Local
Level) and FLAS (Family Life Association of Swaziland), two respected local
non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to provide comprehensive HIV/AIDS
services, including lifesaving anti-retroviral treatment (ART), at a new free
clinic at the LaMvelase Help Centre in Manzini, AHF's first site in
Swaziland. Other partners include the Kingdom of Swaziland's Ministry of
Health (MOH), PSI (Population Services International), and the Manzini City
Council. Swaziland, which has the world's highest HIV/AIDS prevalence rate,
33.4 percent of adults aged between 15 and 49 are HIV positive, has limited
HIV/AIDS and ART services. Before the opening of LaMvelase Help Centre,
Manzini, the largest city in Swaziland, had only one hospital providing ART.

"I am very pleased to announce that we treated our first patients -- and
began delivering lifesaving anti-retroviral treatment -- in the Kingdom of
Swaziland at the LaMvelase Help Centre," said Bernard Okongo, MD, Africa
Bureau Chief for AIDS Healthcare Foundation, the largest US-based AIDS
organization which operates free AIDS treatment clinics in the US, Africa,
Central America and Asia. "We are partnering with AMICAALL and FLAS, PSI, the
Ministry of Health and the Manzini City Council in this lifesaving
collaboration, and we are honored to work together to bring AIDS treatment
and care to many of those in need in Swaziland."

"This partnership brings together many respected stakeholders with the
expertise and clinical, public health and management skills that are
essential for any successful HIV treatment program," said Michael Weinstein,
President of AIDS Healthcare Foundation. "We look forward to working closely
with our distinguished partners in Swaziland in the fight against AIDS at
this new site in Manzini, and to helping scale up the delivery of
antiretroviral treatment throughout Swaziland."

"The LaMvelase Help Centre will provide the full continuum of integrated
HIV/AIDS services. People can come to the clinic for free confidential
HIV/AIDS testing and counseling and, if needed, receive appropriate and
high-quality HIV/AIDS care and treatment at no cost to them," added Dr.
Ndilikazi Buhlungu, Country Program Manager for AIDS Healthcare Foundation.
"In our family care model, we encourage parents to bring their children and
husbands and wives to come together. The strong partnership between the NGO
partners will ensure that all people who visit the clinic receive the best
possible care."

"AHF's strategy in this newest global treatment center will be to provide
support and technical assistance to ensure the highest quality of care to
patients at this new facility in Swaziland," added Henry E. Chang, Chief of
Global Affairs for AIDS Healthcare Foundation. "This includes the training
and capacitating of local medical staff to provide the highest quality care
and treatment to those in need, a key to the success of all of AHF's global
ART delivery programs. AHF will also work in close cooperation with AMICAALL,
FLAS and the Ministry of Health to ensure our treatment goals and objectives
are achieved."

HIV/AIDS in Swaziland

In 2004, U.N. Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS Stephen Lewis announced that
Swaziland had recorded the world's highest HIV/AIDS prevalence, surpassing
nearby Botswana (Kaiser Family Foundation's Daily HIV/AIDS Report, March 22,
2004). The country of roughly one million people had a prevalence rate of
approximately 33.4%. There is also significant prevalence of HIV and TB
co-infection, with 80% of people with TB also co-infected with HIV.
Swaziland's epidemic has been fueled in part by poverty, unemployment, a
large and mobile migrant population, conservative religious and traditional
beliefs against condom use and frequent multiple sexual partners. It is
estimated that 30,000 individuals may be in immediate need of treatment and,
as of September 2006, only 15,000 people were on ART.

The government of Swaziland has demonstrated a high level of political
commitment to the fight against HIV/AIDS. The Swaziland National AIDS Program
was established in 1987. In 1999, the King of Swaziland declared HIV/AIDS a
national disaster and established an HIV/AIDS Cabinet Committee to coordinate
the country's response to its epidemic.

Given the enormous need for the delivery of lifesaving ART throughout
Swaziland, it is expected that the AIDS treatment clinic at LaMvelase Help
Centre in Manzini will scale up the number of patients on HIV/AIDS treatment
and care very quickly.

About FLAS

The Family Life Association of Swaziland (FLAS), a not-for-profit making
Non-Governmental Organization (NGO), is the largest and leading organization
in the provision of innovative sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services.
It plays a complementary role to the activities of the Ministry of Health and
Social Welfare (MOH&SW). It also advocates for the reproductive health rights
of all people in the reproductive age.

About AHF

AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) is the US' largest non-profit HIV/AIDS
healthcare, research, prevention and education provider. In California, AHF
operates the largest non-government HIV testing program, which conducts more
than 15,000 HIV tests annually. AHF currently provides medical care and/or
services to more than 61,000 individuals in 15 countries worldwide in the US,
Africa, Latin America/Caribbean and Asia. Additional information is available
at http://www.aidshealth.org

Media Contact: Ged Kenslea
    Telephone: +1-323-860-5225, Mobile: +1-323-791-5523
    E-Mail: gedk@aidshealth.org

    Alternate Media Contact: Lori Yeghiayan
    Telephone: +1-323-860-5227, Mobile: +1-323-377-4312
    E-Mail: lori.yeghiayan@aidshealth.org



Web site: http://www.aidshealth.org