NAMIBIA: Global Fund releases US $19-m to combat HIV/AIDS

The Global Fund to fight HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria is meeting with the Namibian government to sign an agreement in which the country will receive R989 million (US $148 million) over five years to combat the three diseases.

The Fund announced their plan to allocate R128 million ($19 million) to the Namibian government in the first year of the five-year programme last year. This initial allocation will be spent on prevention of these diseases.

Namibia, according to the Global Fund, is a middle-income country (GNP $1,890 per capita), with 1.8 million inhabitants, "extraordinarily affected by HIV, tuberculosis and malaria". HIV prevalence is estimated at more than 22 percent, while an estimated 160,000 people are living with AIDS.

The five-year proposal will cover prevention, care and support, and also includes youth education, condom promotion and distribution, increased access to voluntary counselling and testing, and prevention of mother to child transmission, as well as antiretroviral treatment and treatment of opportunistic infections.

Theme (s): Other,

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