UNAIDS - November 6, 2008

Four years after signing the first cooperation agreement to support the AIDS response in Central America and the Caribbean, UNAIDS and KfW Entwicklungsbank (KfW) have entered into a new agreement to expand the reach of its cooperation to include parts of Africa.

The first agreement between UNAIDS and KfW - which finances development programmes on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) - was signed in July 2004 and focused on strengthening HIV prevention efforts in several Central American and Caribbean countries, such as Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, Dominican Republic, Haiti, and Guyana. Initiatives included the distribution of affordable condoms and social marketing campaigns to promote behaviour change.

Through the cooperation, in 2006 alone, more than 20 million subsidized condoms were distributed and sold in the region. In addition, condom social marketing programmes have reached an estimated 750,000 people, mainly groups most at risk of HIV infection.

The renewal, which runs from 2008 to 2011, will broaden efforts to address HIV prevention and reproductive health in West and Central Africa.

"Our first cooperation agreement enabled UNAIDS and KfW to provide access to quality, affordable condoms and to promote HIV awareness through various campaigns - prevention efforts that made a difference in the countries where we worked," said UNAIDS Deputy Executive Director Michel Sidibe.

In the spirit of the previous framework, UNAIDS will continue to provide technical guidance for the initiatives and facilitate coordination among various stakeholders. KfW will further strengthen regional initiatives and enforce the regular information transfer between all parties. Jointly with UNAIDS, KfW will foster monitoring of the initiatives to improve transparency and detect opportunities and challenges.

"Enhancing the cooperation between UNAIDS and KfW Entwicklungsbank makes sense, as Africa is the continent that is by far the most affected by the epidemic," said KfW's Bruno Wenn, Senior Vice President Sub-Saharan Africa. "The activities by UNAIDS and KfW will increase the effectiveness of the AIDS response in Africa and elsewhere".

About KfW

The German Development Bank finances development programmes in partner countries and regions on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development. Between 2001 and 2007, a total of EUR 443 million has been committed to activities focused on sexual and reproductive health and HIV prevention.

About UNAIDS

UNAIDS is an innovative joint venture of the United Nations, bringing together the efforts and resources of the UNAIDS Secretariat and ten UN system organizations in the AIDS response. The Secretariat headquarters is in Geneva, Switzerland-with staff on the ground in more than 80 countries. Coherent action on AIDS by the UN system is coordinated in countries through UN theme groups, and joint programmes on AIDS.

UNAIDS' Cosponsors include UNHCR, UNICEF, WFP, UNDP, UNFPA, UNODC, ILO, UNESCO, WHO and the World Bank. Visit the UNAIDS Web site at www.unaids.org

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