The Roman Catholic Church in southern Africa is "consider[ing]" supporting condom use as a method to stem the spread of HIV/AIDS in the region, Britain's Daily Telegraph reports. The church's "fundamental principle of the sanctity of life" forbids the use of condoms. But Bishop Kevin Dowling of South Africa stated in a policy paper that the church should "reconside[r]" this view.

The World Bank will loan Nigeria and Burkina Faso more than $100 million to fight HIV/AIDS under the bank's $500 million HIV/AIDS Program for the Africa Region. The no-interest loans, which will be funneled through the World Bank's International Development Association, will go toward scaling up HIV/AIDS prevention strategies already established by the countries' governments.

Speaking at an OAU "working breakfast" meeting with other heads of state, Kenyan President Daniel arap Moi "called on" African leaders to develop and implement joint initiatives for fighting the continent's HIV/AIDS pandemic. Because HIV/AIDS knows "no regional boundaries," the need for such regional anti-AIDS efforts are "urgent," he said.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the 37th summit of the Organization of African Unity, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan "urged" African leaders to halt Africa's "persistent" conflicts and build a "common future," the Xinhua News Agency reports. Annan said that the conflicts, which many on the continent "deemed as unavoidable," were "caused by human action" and can be "ended by human action too"

The Codex Alimentarius Commission has agreed on the first global principles for the safety assessment of genetically modified foods, on maximum levels of certain food toxins, and on guidelines for organic livestock production, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO) said in a joint statement today.