UGANDA: HIV/AIDS support organisation gets private sector funding

Four hundred AIDS orphans are expected to benefit from a US $81,000 grant made available by a local cellular company, the AIDS Support Organisation (TASO) said on Monday.

"The grant follows negotiations between TASO and Celtel and will be disbursed as instalments of about US $11,000 annually," TASO head of finance, Nicholas Mugumya, told the UN news service Plusnews.

Mugumya said the money will help AIDS orphans throughout the country with the purchase of school books and the paying of school fees.

"As a show of gratitude, TASO will be providing HIV/AIDS educational programmes to Celtel employees," Mugumya added.

The UNICEF Children on the Brink 2002 report says that out of 1.7 million orphans aged 14 and below, about half have lost one or both of their parents to HIV/AIDS.

Theme (s): Care/Treatment - PlusNews, Children,

[This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations]