Nelson Mandela has revealed that three members of his family have died of AIDS-related illnesses, and called for an end to the severe stigma attached to the disease in southern Africa.
Mandela told the Johannesburg Sunday Times that a niece and two sons of a nephew had died of AIDS, but family members had asked him not to name them.
The former President of South Africa said that it was important for South Africans to be open about the disease.
"There is no shame to disclose a terminal disease from which you are suffering, and HIV is no different. In prison, I suffered from tuberculosis and outside I suffered from cancer of the prostate. I went public in regard to both and nobody shunned me.
"We call upon everybody not to treat people who are HIV-positive with a stigma. We must embrace and love them."