Addis Ababa, Ethiopia — The co-ordinator of the World Bank's Global HIV/AIDS, Dr. Debrework Zewdie, Wednesday said the bank was mobilising international resources to combat the pandemic in Africa, under its "multi-country HIV/AIDS Programme for Africa."

Debrework, who also manages the bank's AIDS campaign team for Africa, told the second African development forum, which has since Sunday been considering the impact of the pandemic on Africa's development efforts, that the bank views the incurable disease as "the foremost threat to development in Africa."

Explaining the bank's contribution to the International Partnership Against AIDS in Africa, she said there were only four options presently available to Africa in the fight against the pandemic.

One was to obtain enough grant resources, the second involved delaying response until fully funded grants became available. The third option, she explained, was debt relief, while the fourth was finding resources now so that loan from the World Bank fills the gap in each country, which was what the bank was trying to do.

"Let the international community mobilise the kind of resources that were poured into Kossovo or Y2k for HIV/AIDS in Africa. It is that goal that the bank is offering the map to Africa today," she said.

Debrework pointed out that it had been estimated that a basic programme of prevention, care and treatment of AIDS in every country in Africa would cost about three billion US dollars.

She said the bank's board set-aside in September a first tranche of 500 million dollars under the International Development Agency to finance the HIV/AIDS programme. Other tranches are to follow later.

She explained that with a few exceptions, African countries are eligible for IDA soft loans. The grant component of IDA is 65 percent, which means that borrowing countries ultimately repay only about one dollar for every three they receive.

Debrework observed that as Africa borrows two billion dollars every year, the debt incurred to fight HIV/AIDS will be absolutely necessary.

"Best estimates suggest that a cost-effective HIV/AIDS programme in Africa can avert one HIV infection for an average of about 200 dollars. The medical costs alone of treating AIDS cases are, by most estimates, at least 700 dollars in sub-Saharan Africa, excluding anti-retroviral drugs," she said.

Likewise, she noted, if a country receives 200 dollars from IDA for HIV/AIDS programme, it will have to repay 70 dollars (or 35 percent which is the credit part of IDA loan.

The country would save at least 700 dollars in medical costs -- not counting the savings in absenteeism, productivity loss of orphan care and others.

Debrework said that the bank was also in the process of establishing an AIDS Trust Fund for Africa, in collaboration with the US government and UNAIDS.