Foreign Affairs Minister Phil Goff has told the United Nations general assembly that more attention and resources need to be given to combat what he describes as the scourge of Aids.
Goff says HIV has devastated sub-Saharan Africa, with rates as high as 30% and says in the Pacific, more than 7,000 people are affected.
"Above all else, however, political leadership is needed to properly implement HIV-Aids prevention and treatment strategies if we are to avoid an epidemic in our part own of the world," Goff said.
He says New Zealand has given several million dollars to international programmes dealing with Aids, and says a $6 million regional programme has also recently begun in the Pacific.
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