*EPF513 11/30/2001
Fact Sheet: USAID Initiative Targets HIV/AIDS at Local Level
(New program announced for World AIDS Day 2001) (1090)

The U.S. Agency for International Development announced a new grant program November 30 to enable community and faith-based organizations to address HIV/AIDS problems.

The Communities Responding to the HIV/AIDS Epidemic (CORE) initiative arises from an earlier program in which small organizations in 13 countries received grants to develop and implement local disease-related projects. USAID officials say that grass-roots organizations are best positioned to judge how the epidemic has affected their communities and then identify needs and projects.

USAID released a summary of the projects funded in the pilot program that exemplify the types of initiatives that may be funded in the future under the $1.5 million CORE initiative.

USAID's budget for HIV/AIDS programs was $320 million in 2001. The United States has contributed more than $1,600 million to efforts to contain the epidemic in the developing world since 1986.

Following is the text of the USAID fact sheet:

(begin fact sheet)

U.S. AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

USAID FACT SHEET

CORE Initiative Empowerment Grants

As part of its planning, the CORE Initiative conducted the first of two rounds of an open and competitive grants process designed to gauge both the level of interest and the capacity of non-faith and faith-based organizations to use micro grants (awards of $5,000 or less) to initiate or expand HIV/AIDS programs at the community level. Thirteen awards were made to organizations in Latin America, Asia, the Caribbean, and Africa, with eight of them going to non-faith based groups. Capsule descriptions of the proposals and the incredible level of activity they will support are found below.

Cambodia

Tean Thor Association (Acts of Compassion) is a non-sectarian non-governmental organization that works closely with both Buddhist Monks and the Catholic Office for Emergency Relief and Refugees. It received an award to develop posters and other informational materials and train Buddhist monks from 16 pagodas to conduct an AIDS Day in primary schools specifically intended to reduce discrimination against children orphaned or affected by AIDS.

Ecuador

Corporacion Kimirina is a non-sectarian non-governmental organization that received a grant to institute an awareness-raising program with print and broadcast journalists to improve the level and quality of reporting on HIV/AIDS with an emphasis on reducing stigma toward people living with HIV and AIDS. One-on-one visits to research key actors in the media, provision of comprehensive statistics and other information on the situation in Ecuador, and two separate workshops will be conducted.

Guyana

Guyana Responsible Parenthood Organization is a non-sectarian non-governmental organization established in 1973 to "promote responsible sexual behavior and family life." It received an award to implement key elements of the UNAIDS "Greater Involvement of People Living with AIDS" protocol. They will conduct a 3-day workshop for 40 people living with AIDS or HIV to build self-esteem and increase life-skills, and will conduct in-depth skills training with at least 15 people living with AIDS each week for a 12-week period, among other activities.

India

National Lutheran Health and Medical Board received an award to conduct an AIDS awareness program using street theater, drama, and folk arts in 10 villages in a rural mountainous region in Tamil Nadu, South India. The program is intended to increase awareness and understanding of the disease and its modes of transmission, increase condom use, and increase requests for voluntary counseling and testing for HIV.

Madagascar

The Adventist Development and Relief Agency received a grant to develop and field-test a youth life-skills curriculum to "influence and nurture the development of positive, protective decision-making . . . among adolescents in faith communities across Madagascar." It will make possible five days of training for 15 participants, two national radio broadcasts per month for four months, production of 3,000 leaflets, and a range of other activities.

Mozambique

The Church of God in Mozambique was awarded a grant to train 150 community volunteers from 23 churches to provide care to their neighbors and to counsel others on how to prevent infection.

Nigeria

The non-sectarian Nigeria Youth AIDS Program received an award to conduct in-depth training in advocacy; and training for provision of HIV/AIDS and reproductive health information and services for parents, lay leaders, and religious leaders from five institutions in Lagos.

Rwanda

The non-sectarian Rwanda affiliate of the Society for Women and AIDS in Africa received an award to develop print, audio, and video materials for a national distribution and broadcast campaign to inform women and girls of the facts about HIV/AIDS and how they can protect themselves from infection.

South Africa

The non-sectarian 25,500 member Promotion of Traditional Medicine Association of South Africa received an award to conduct training to identify practices and methods of practitioners that may contribute to stigmatization, and to develop and implement a training program so that practitioners relied on by some 85% of South Africans -- promote healthy prevention messages and nonjudgmental language to reduce stigma.

Tanzania

Tumaini Women and Development Group, a non-sectarian support group for women widowed by AIDS, received an award to:

-- pay school fees, purchase textbooks and supplies, subsidize lunches, pay for medical check-ups and uniforms to enable 32 orphans to attend school and

-- establish five micro-enterprises to support 20 widows that will also launch a self-refinancing and sustainable economic development effort.

Togo

The Methodist Church of Togo received a grant to develop materials and establish a permanent team responsible for HIV/AIDS awareness within the church and initially train 1,500 women and young people on HIV/AIDS and STDs with a specific emphasis on reducing unsafe sexual behavior. Nearly 25% of the overall budget was provided by the applicant, who will also provide significant in-kind contributions.

Zambia

The Mindolo Ecumenical Foundation received an award to provide a comprehensive ten-day residential training program on HIV/AIDS for 20 non-sectarian community leaders (traditional birth attendants, rural preschool and primary teachers, community health volunteers, etc.) from two villages.

Zimbabwe

Chiedza Home of Hope is a grass-roots and non-sectarian organization operated by people living with HIV in low-income neighborhoods of Harare. Chiedza received a grant to train and transport 12 outreach workers to expand the number of neighborhoods served, to increase the amount and quality of information available to people at high risk, increase utilization of the Chiedza drop-in center for counseling, and to reduce stigmatization and discrimination.

(end fact sheet)

(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

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