PRETORIA, South Africa (CP) - Former South African president Nelson Mandela asked Monday for help from the G-8 countries in the fight against an AIDS epidemic that has hit the region hard. "Let us have enough resources for us to address this problem," Mandela said after an hour-long meeting with Prime Minister Jean Chretien, who will host this summer's G-8 summit in Kananaskis, Alta.
Chretien is on a six-nation tour of Africa to prepare a plan for aid to the world's poorest countries.
Mandela, 83, and still one of the most respected people in Africa despite his retirement from public life nearly three years ago, said he had no advice to offer Chretien in preparing the plan, adding the prime minister seems to have "clear thoughts."
Chretien made no comment at their joint appearance.
The fight against AIDS remains a controversial topic in South Africa, where almost 4.7 million people are HIV-infected. One in four adults in the country is HIV-positive and 70,000 South African babies are born HIV-positive each year.
Mandela called for more education on sexual practices that can lead to HIV being transmitted.
South African President Thabo Mbeki recently refused to implement a countrywide drug program for infected mothers. Studies have shown the drug Nevirapine reduces by 50 per cent the chances of mothers passing on the virus.
A South African AIDS group contested the government decision in court.
Chretien refused to become involved in the debate when he arrived Sunday, saying it was up to the South African government to decide how to attack AIDS in its own country.
Mandela insisted he wasn't looking for charity and that he trusted African leaders to implement programs to help people.
"Africa has very competent and experienced leaders who are rising to expectations," Mandela said. "Those countries who are still having a one-party state and dictatorship are few and far between. They are the exception."
Later, Chretien said he believes his meetings so far in Morocco, Algeria, Nigeria and South Africa will lead to more economic development on the continent.
He said he'd like to see African countries increase their business with each other, but he said he thinks they are on the right track.
"They are working as a region, that's the first time," said Chretien.
"And they spend a lot of time on this, meeting after meeting after meeting, they take it extremely seriously."
Chretien will visit Ethiopia and Senegal after his trip to London for the Queen Mother's funeral on Tuesday. A scheduled visit to Mozambique during that time was cancelled so Chretien could travel to London. However, President Joaquim Chissano travelled to South Africa on Sunday to meet Chretien.
The prime minister returns to Ottawa on Saturday.
The meeting between Mandela and Chretien nearly didn't happen. It had been scheduled long ago but was called off because of Chretien's plans to interrupt his trip to attend the funeral.
But Chretien said it would have been unthinkable for him to visit South Africa without meeting its most famous leader.
The meeting was put back on the itinerary at the last minute, just before Chretien left South Africa for Britain on Monday morning.
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