UNITED NATIONS

 
Published: Monday 15 July 1996

Conservation and sustainable use of plants is the prime issue on the agenda of the participants in the ongoing Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) conference in Leipzig. Germany. According to the FAO. around three-quarters of the world's plant species have been lost this century. The spread of modern. commercial agriculture and the introduction of new varieties of crops have been identified as the main factors leading to the loss of plant diversity. "Plant genetic resources for food and agriculture provide the biological basis for world food security and support the livelihoods of every person on earth," says the FAO.

A survey conducted by the UN revealed that the number of people suffering from AIDS went up by 25 per cent in 1995 and now totals 1.3 million. Nearly 21 million adults across the world are infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. Women make up about 42 per cent of the reported cases and the percentage is rising according to the UN report. Most adults get infected with HIV between the ages of 15 and 24 and most of them die from AIDs-related diseases before 49. More than 90 per cent of those infected are from developing countries, said the survey.

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