U.N. Secretary-General calls for African nations to invest 15% of national budgets to fight HIV/AIDS

During a tour of the Joint Clinical Research Centre in Kampala, Uganda, on Monday, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon called for countries in Africa to invest 15 percent of their national budgets in HIV/AIDS programs, the Daily Monitor reports.

Five percent of Uganda's national budget goes toward HIV/AIDS "with the majority of the contribution coming from the donor community," the newspaper writes, adding that ten percent of Uganda's national budget goes to the ministry of health (Wandera, 6/1).

While praising "Uganda and President Yoweri Museveni for taking a lead in the fight against" HIV/AIDS, Ban acknowledged "the epidemic remained a serious global problem," New Vision reports. Ban "called for universal access to the HIV/AIDS drugs and urged leaders and the international community to ensure that global health is promoted worldwide."

"The United Nations believes in universal access to drug[s] and ensuring health worldwide. Our aim is to get as much support as we can from the international community to fight the HIV/AIDS scourge," Ban said (Kakande, 6/1).