Former President Visits Ethiopia

Former President of Ghana, J.J. Rawlings visited Ethiopia this week as the United Nations Volunteers Eminent Person for the International Year of Volunteers (IYV).

J.J. Rawlings told journalists on his arrival that he was here to support the efforts of volunteers in the fight against HIV/AIDS. J.J. Rawlings was appointed by the UN Secretary General Kofi Annan as UN Volunteers Eminent Person to advocate the role of volunteers in the fight against AIDS.

The UN Volunteers Headquarters in Bonn, Germany has arranged a number of country visits to Botswana in April and the least developing countries conference in Brussels in May 2001, for the former Ghanian President, according to Information obtained from the UNDP office in Ethiopia. In the second leg of his trip, Rawlings visits Ethiopia, Tanzania, and Kenya.

In his stay in Addis, Rawlings met and held talks with government officials, religious leaders and organizations working against HIV/AIDS.