Important note: Information in this article was accurate in September 2000. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.afrol.com, 13 September - "Last April we promised that no sensible AIDS program in Africa would want for funding," said World Bank President James Wolfensohn. "Today, we deliver on that promise. We hope this program will help break the silence and inspire every country that needs help to ask for it." Immediate financing goes to Ethiopian and Kenyan government programs.
The Board of Directors of the World Bank today approved a Multi-Country HIV/AIDS Program (MAP) for Africa, representing a region-wide commitment by the institution to strengthen the response to the epidemic. The Board agreed to commit an initial amount of US$ 500 million in flexible and rapid funding over the next three years, which will consist of several projects to fight the epidemic in Sub-Saharan African countries. The funds will be committed to individual HIV/AIDS projects developed by countries, using standard IDA credit agreements.
The MAP will support efforts to scale up national prevention, care, support, and treatment programs, and to prepare countries to cope with the unprecedented burdens they will face as the millions living with HIV today develop AIDS over the next decade.
The first two countries to benefit from the program are Ethiopia and Kenya, whose projects were approved today as part of the MAP. These countries will receive US $59.7 million and US$ 50 million, respectively, in soft loans from the International Development Association (IDA). The Bank expects many other countries to seek support under the MAP in the near future.
"The ultimate impact of the MAP," said Wolfensohn, "will be to avert millions of HIV infections, alleviate suffering for tens of millions, and help preserve the development prospects of entire nations."
Provided they meet simple eligibility criteria-including eligibility for IDA credits-countries in Sub-Saharan Africa should be able to draw resources quickly under the MAP to broaden the scope of their prevention, care, support and treatment programs to reduce the rate of HIV infection. The criteria will include:
One of the most important features of the MAP is the participation of communities and of associations of people affected by HIV/AIDS in the design and implementation of activities at the village level. The program will channel resources directly to them and help finance their own local initiatives in response to the epidemic.
The program is part of the World Bank's commitment to the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and to the International Partnership Against AIDS in Africa (IPAA), of which the institution is a founding member. The IPAA includes African governments; NGOs and other civil society organizations, including those established by people living with HIV/AIDS; bilateral and multilateral agencies; and the private sector. The overarching goal of the IPAA is to assist nations and civil society to redirect national and international policies and resources to address the evolving HIV/AIDS epidemic and its many compelling implications.
Some 15 million people in Africa have already died of AIDS, with devastating social and economic impact. The epidemic is costing the region close to one percent of economic growth each year, while imposing an unsustainable and mounting burden on households, firms, and the public sector.
Among the local projects sponsored are the Kenya HIV/AIDS Disaster Response Project and the Ethiopia Multisectoral HIV/AIDS Project.
The US$ 60 million Ethiopia Multisectoral HIV/AIDS Project will help finance the government's 2000-2004 HIV/AIDS Strategic Plan. The first year of the project will aim at expanding and accelerating existing prevention and mitigation programs and build additional planning, implementation and evaluation capacity. The second and third years of the project will, on the basis of lessons learned, focus on mainstreaming the program and implementation channels evaluated as most effective.
Currently one of every 11 people living with HIV/AIDS is an Ethiopian. Life expectancy is already falling, and the epidemic is systematically undermining the country's efforts to reduce poverty.
Realizing the enormity of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, the government of Kenya has declared AIDS a national disaster and established the National AIDS Control Council in December 1999 to coordinate a multisectoral response to the crisis. The US$ 50 million project will support the five priority areas of the National AIDS Strategic Plan: prevention and advocacy; treatment and support for people infected or affected by HIV/AIDS; mitigation of the socioeconomic impact; research, monitoring and evaluation; and management and coordination.
Approximately 14% of all adults (15-49 years) in Kenya are infected with HIV, with the prevalence rate exceeding 20 percent in some districts. Of particular concern is HIV prevalence among young women, with 24% of women ages 15-24 now infected versus 4% of men in the same age group.
Source: World Bank
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