GENEVA, Switzerland (Reuters) - Public health officials at the 12th Annual AIDS Conference on Tuesday said they were making progress in getting drugs to developing countries, but conceded these efforts were only a small start. French Health Minister Bernard Kouchner set out plans for an international fund to supply AIDS drugs to the developing world, and officials from several developing countries gave updates on a United Nations-sponsored drug-access initiative.

Kouchner said France and Belgium would begin a help programme this year, targeted principally at reducing transmission of the virus from mother to child, and continued support for the mother after birth. Health ministers from Uganda and the Ivory Coast announced the arrival of the first shipments of drugs under a separate programme organised by UNAIDS, the United Nations‘ AIDS programme. U.N. officials said Bristol-Myers Squibb Co and Organon Teknika had joined Glaxo Wellcome, Hoffman-La Roche and Virco NV in the inititive to provide cheaper drugs to the developing world. The pilot was launched last year and will be implemented in Chile, Ivory Coast, Uganda and Vietnam. The initiative is a collaborative effort in which the drug companies have agreed to provide HIV/AIDS treatments at lower prices while the participating countries adapt their health infrastructure to ensure appropriate distribution and use of the drugs. Some 10 percent of Uganda‘s population - nearly 900,000 people - are thought to be infected with the virus that causes AIDS. Senegal said it would become the first African country to supply triple combinations of drugs to people affected by HIV. Studies presented at the conference on Tuesday showed antiviral tests may be able to identify mutations in the HIV virus, helping doctors to predict how patients will respond to drug treatments and prescribe accordingly.