THE Government has implored cooperating partners who made pledges towards the North-South Corridor initiative to fulfill their promises.

Commerce Trade and Industry Minister, Felix Mutati said this on Monday night during a cocktail party hosted for the delegates.

"We are in a hurry to change the region. Those commitments must be translated quite quickly. They must be delivered quite quickly because we have a race against poverty and any delay in the delivery of those commitments will make the race against poverty much difficult," Mr Mutati said.

Mr Mutati said he was happy that, for the first time, the North-South Corridor was receiving pledges from cooperating partners.

He was optimistic that the more than US$1.2 billion committed would be made available within the agreed timeframe.

"We need to show practical proof that where we are coming from, there is evidence of delivering. So, the timing for the next conference will depend upon the delivery of these commitments," Mr Mutati.

He said that the partners that had not made pledges were still at liberty to make their contributions at a later stage.

"We need the delivery of those commitments so please, you told us you were going to help us, don't abandon us," Mr Mutati said.

And United Kingdom Minister of State, Gareth Thomas has challenged the North -South Corridor member countries to come up with a strategy on how to tackle the HIV/AIDS, which has continued to claim lives.

Mr Thomas said in Lusaka yesterday that the creation of one border post was another way in which the region would reduce the HIV/AIDS infection rate and called for sensitisation programmes among the communities and truck drivers.

Mr Thomas was speaking during the discussion on the health implication of improved transport infrastructure for millennium development goals number four, five and six.

He said that as the region was working towards implementing the North-South Corridor project, it was important that they considered improved health infrastructure.

Mr Thomas said investment into the health facilities to combat HIV would go a long way in the implementation of the North -South Corridor and that the spread of the disease was serious, going by the studies conducted.

He said the donor pledges towards the just ended North-South Corridor project would go towards infrastructure development and, therefore, attract investment and trade in the region.

And speaking at the same function, Health Minister, Kapembwa Simbao said there was need to find ways of fighting HIV/AIDS because few people were using condoms despite messages on the dangers of the pandemic.

Earlier, International Migration Organisation regional HIV/AIDS coordinator for southern Africa, Barbara Rijks said the movement of people from one place to another increased the infection rates of the disease.