United Nations: UN Secretary General Kofi Annan termed the spread of HIV/AIDS (Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Immuno Deficiency Syndrome) as the "real weapon of mass destruction".

Annan also sought international assistance to contain the epidemic, which was killing 8,000 people daily.

"For countries in Southern Africa, Zimbabwe and Zambia, the AIDS epidemic is a real weapon of mass destruction," he said in a yearend press conference in New York yesterday (Dec 18, 2003).

"When we talk of our concern for weapons of mass destruction and our determination to make sure that they don't get into wrong hands or that they are manufactured, we are concerned because they can be used to kill thousands of people…But 8,000 are dying a day (of AIDS)," Annan said.

Annan hoped international attention would focus next year on the epidemic. "I would want us (international community) to focus on the fight against HIV/AIDS," he added.

PTI