UK aid for Burma Aids program

Britain has announced a $15.7m contribution to an international programme for action against HIV/Aids in Burma - the biggest to the project so far.

The money for the three-year care and prevention initiative will be channelled through a fund managed by the United Nations Development Programme, and administered by a group that includes representatives of the local population, UN agencies and donors.

A British government official in London said the transparency and accountability of the financial procedures were important.

Other donors to the Joint Programme of Action for HIV/AIDS in Burma include Sweden, Norway and Denmark.

The United Nations estimates that more than 400,000 people are infected with HIV in Burma.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service