A US congressional staff delegation, led by Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, would visit South Africa in the next month to focus on HIV/Aids, US ambassador to South Africa Cameron R Hume said in Durban yesterday.

This follows President George W Bush's signing of a $15-billion dollar emergency plan for the global fight against HIV/Aids.

At the official opening of the Doris Duke Medical Research Institute at the Nelson R Mandela School of Medicine, University of Natal, Hume assured guests that "President Bush and his administration are deeply concerned about HIV/Aids and strongly committed to combating the disease".

The Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, an American philanthropic organisation, has invested R13,5-million in the research facility. It has ten specialised laboratories, to add to its "scientific arsenal against the HIV/AIDS pandemic", said Hume.

The centre would also contribute to enhance research on tuberculosis, cancer and certain children's diseases.

Deputy President Jacob Zuma, who also attended the opening, spoke about the medical school's special place in history as a key centre in the struggle against apartheid.

A former student had been the late Steve Biko, a founder of the Black Consciousness Movement, Zuma said.

"This excellent example should serve as a model for the current crop of medical students and medical practitioners as we engage in the new struggle against HIV/Aids, malaria, TB and all other infectious diseases," said Zuma. – Sapa.