ADDIS ABABA, Oct. 14 (Xinhuanet) -- Pascoal Mocumbi, former prime minister of Mozambique, has warned of devastating consequences forAfrica if HIV-positive people are not given treatment, and called on governments to rethink their growth and development strategies taking HIV/AIDS into account.

    "The future of our societies is tied to keeping these people alive," said Mocumbi on Thursday at the ongoing Fourth African Development Forum in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

    "There is no escaping the fact that the loss of teachers, health workers and civil servants at the rates witnessed today threatens deterioration and eventual collapse (of the societies),"he said, while adding "the cost of writing off HIV-infected peopleis too high to contemplate."

    Mocumbi was giving a preview of the likely findings of the Commission on HIV/AIDS and Governance in Africa (CHGA) that is dueto report to UN Secretary General Kofi Annan in June 2005.

    There are still gaps in knowledge of HIV's impact on governance,particularly on the skills base in all sectors of society, even though such knowledge was vitally needed, said Mocumbi who is a patron of CHGA.

    He said the CHGA's work would help governments understand the impact of AIDS on human capacity and related planning and budgetary implications.

    The CHGA, which is chaired by Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa K. Y. Amoako, was set up in 2003 toconsider the long-term impact of the AIDS pandemic on Africa and make recommendations. Enditem