România Libera hails a European first, and a milestone in the fight against AIDS – a field in which Romania has made significant efforts over the last decade. On the occasion of the June 25 inauguration of the first European training academy for HIV/AIDS in Bucharest, the daily spoke to health minister Ion Bazac who was keen to point out that much has changed "since the 1990s, when pictures of HIV-positive Romanian children were front page news worldwide." For Bazac, the new Academy will enable the country will have the means to share the experience it acquired "in a ten year-long battle with this public health problem."
"Romania has the largest population of long-term AIDS survivors in all of Eastern Europe," reports România Libera. The daily further notes that the Academy, which will be attached to the Institute for Infectious Diseases and provided with a budget of 1.5 million US dollars, will have a three-fold mission: to offer course programs for medical interns, provide support for a network of experts from over 15 European countries, and coordinate a regional HIV/AIDS plan for Moldova, Belarus, Ukraine and the Caucasus countries.
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