United Nations Development Programme (New York) - November 13, 2003

The UNDP Burkina Faso office will be the channel for the money, beginning with $14 million for the first two-year phase. Health Minister Alain Bedouna Yoda, UNDP Resident Representative Christian Lemaire, Global Fund representative Tina Draser and members of civil society groups joined in the recent signing ceremony for the grant in Ouagadougou, the capital.

Surveys indicate that 6.5 per cent of those 15 to 49 years old are living with HIV/AIDS, according to UNAIDS. Young women 15 to 24 are particularly vulnerable, with an estimated 8 to 12 per cent living with the virus, and more than half of commercial sex workers are infected.

Burkina Faso, one of the world's poorest countries, with an average income of $215 a year, lacks resources to scale up action against HIV/AIDS. The funds will go towards improvements in medical treatment, including anti-retroviral drugs, strengthening community organizations that provide medical treatment and psychological, emotional and moral support for patients living with HIV/AIDS, and expansion of the national programme to prevent mother-to-child transmission.

In the case of malaria, the death rate among children under five is 1,444 per 100,000, one of the highest in Africa. The funds will help improve medical care, supply medical districts with anti-malaria drugs, and train health professionals in handling difficult cases.

The broader aim is to improve prevention through wider distribution of insecticide-treated bed nets to protect against mosquitoes carrying the disease and reduce deaths of children under five hospitalized with severe malaria. The funds will also go towards home care for pregnant women with uncomplicated malaria.

Mr. Lemaire paid tribute to the Government and members of the country coordinating mechanism for the Global Fund grant for their trust and gave assurances that UNDP would facilitate the use of the funds for the intended beneficiaries.

The additional assistance will help Burkina Faso step up progress towards Millennium Development Goal Six, which calls on countries to halt and begin to reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS and the incidence of malaria and other major diseases by 2015.

For further information please contact Theophane Kinda, UNDP Burkina Faso, or Nicholas Gouede, UNDP Communications Office.

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