BANGKOK, July 15: Former South African President Nelson Mandela, in a veiled swipe at the United States, called on donors on Thursday to join efforts to pour billions of dollars into a global fund to fight Aids.

Speaking at a major Aids conference in Bangkok where Washington has come under fire for its go-it-alone approach, Mandela said donor nations must unite against the incurable disease that has killed 20 million people and infected nearly twice that number.

"We challenge everyone to help fund the fund now," said the Nobel laureate and one of the world's leading Aids campaigners. The controversy erupted when UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said the Bush administration should inject $1 billion a year and show the same commitment to fighting Aids that it does in combating terrorism.

The United States promptly rejected the call and refused to exceed its $200 million commitment to the Global Fund to Fight Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria for 2005. Mandela did not name the United States in his speech, but he said all donors needed to increase their funding substantially for the Geneva-based fund, a public-private partnership.

"Ensuring the Global Fund is fully-funded is critical to success in our fight against the three diseases," he said, adding that donors should "harmonise their efforts in support of nationally owned plans and frameworks of the recipient nations."

Washington insists it is leading the Aids war through President George W. Bush's five-year, $15 billion plan for care, prevention and treatment in 15 countries, mostly in Africa and the Caribbean, which account for 70 per cent of new infections.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the philanthropic organisation set up by Microsoft chairman Bill Gates, announced a $50 million donation to the Global Fund on Thursday. -AFP