South African president says Nelson Mandela is responding to treatment at his home

JOHANNESBURG – The South African president says former leader Nelson Mandela is responding to treatment at his home, where a team of doctors is caring for him.

Authorities have previously described Mandela's condition as critical. The 95-year-old former president and leader of the anti-apartheid movement was discharged from a hospital on Sept. 1, nearly three months after he was admitted for a recurring lung infection.

The South African Press Association quotes President Jacob Zuma as saying in a speech released Wednesday that Mandela continues to respond to treatment. The speech was prepared for delivery at the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

Mandela spent 27 years in prison during white minority rule. He led South Africa through a delicate transition to all-race elections that propelled him to the presidency in 1994.