UNAIDS (Geneva) - June 25, 2002
"The spread of HIV/AIDS erodes much of the hard-gained development of our people," said Professor Yunus. "The quest for development, in South Asia and in all developing countries, will be more difficult if the current spread of AIDS is not halted. Families, especially the poor and women, will have to bear the burden."
Professor Yunus, an economist from Bangladesh, is founder of the Grameen Bank, a "village bank" set up in 1983 to provide micro-credit loans of very small amounts to the rural poor.
"Access to micro-credit reduces the impact of HIV at the family level and provides for succession planning. Providing micro-credit to families affected by HIV/AIDS must be made an essential part of the care strategy," Professor Yunus said.
"The Grameen experience has without doubt proved that communities, when given the opportunity, can come up with unique and socially relevant solutions. Communities are central to HIV prevention and care, and communities can provide solutions for HIV prevention and care."
As founder of the Grameen Movement, Professor Yunus is considered a revolutionary. His ideas couple capitalism with social responsibility and have changed the face of rural economic and social development forever. The Grameen Bank operates 1,092 branches in 36,000 rural Bangladesh villages, providing credit to over two million of the country's poorest people in Bangladesh. Since its inception, Grameen has loaned more than US$2 billion. This new banking system of providing unsecured credit to the poorest of the poor began as an action-research project at Chittagong University, and later grew into a full-fledged bank. Grameen Bank's patrons are 94% women who have an unparalleled repayment rate of 98%.
As a champion of the fight against poverty, Professor Yunus will help bring the message of HIV/AIDS prevention and care to many of the world's neediest people.
"Through the Grameen Bank, Professor Yunus has helped lift people out of poverty and give them a chance to control their own lives, bringing self-sufficiency to millions of poor families. Micro-credit focuses on women and on the most disadvantaged, two groups that are also highly vulnerable when it comes to the spread and impact of AIDS," said Dr Peter Piot, Executive Director of UNAIDS.
Professor Yunus's work on behalf of UNAIDS will involve country visits to advocate for comprehensive and early intervention on HIV/AIDS programmes, helping UNAIDS document best practice in the region, encouraging the private sector to invest in HIV prevention programmes, promoting the involvement of civil society in the fight against AIDS, and representing UNAIDS at key national and international events.
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For more information, please contact Anne Winter, UNAIDS, Geneva, (+41 22) 791 4577, Dominique de Santis, UNAIDS, Geneva, (+41 22) 791 4509 or Andrew Shih, UNAIDS, New York, (+ 1 212) 584 5024. You may also visit the UNAIDS Website for more information about the programme (http://www.unaids.org).
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