A regional organisation involved in UN funding to deal with HIV/Aids in the Pacific says New Zealand is one of the key partners in the battle against the epidemic.
New Zealand has announced it is to give 1.8 million US dollars to three United Nations funds that deal with HIV/Aids.
That is on top of three and a half million US dollars it contributes to international and regional organisations dealing with the disease.
The Manager of Public Health at Pacific Community, Dr Mark Jacobs, says while the funding is to be split between three UN bodies, having a number of organisations involved brings a greater range of ideas on how to deal with the epidemic:
"If it was one organisation that had ownership of the issue and was making all the decisions about it, well, they are going to have a particular perspective about what is important and what is not important and I think this would increase the likelihood that things that at the end of the day that would make a difference to the epidemic, might be overlooked."
The Manager of Public Health at Pacific Community, Dr Mark Jacobs
