Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2000. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
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United Press International - Wednesday, 12 July 2000
Annemarie Hou, a spokeswoman for the Gates Foundation said Wednesday the grants include $50 million for AIDS-ravaged Botswana as well as other fund for an innovative sex education project in South Africa.
"We are quite excited by the grant," said David Mametja, chairman of the executive committee of loveLife, the sex education and adolescent counseling program. "But we know we are going to have to show a return on the $7 million investment-not in profits, but in lives saved."
International agencies predict that as many as one-third to one-half of South Africa's 15 years olds will die from AIDS before they are 30. Mametja said the goal of loveLife is not to ignore that adolescents are interested in sex, but to facilitate safe sex and make the youth aware of the consequences and responsibilities of engaging in sexual activities. The Seattle-based foundation made the announcement at the XII International AIDS Conference.
The programs to be supported include:
--$50 million to the Botswana Comprehensive HIV/AIDS Partnership to help fund a new partnership between the government of Botswana and the pharmaceutical giant Merck & Co. The fund will attempt to promote prevention, healthcare access, patient management and treatment of HIV in Botswana -- a nation in which 36 percent of the adults are infected by HIV, the virus which causes AIDS.
--$25 million to the CONRAD Program, an international effort to develop vaginal microbicides to protect women against sexually transmitted diseases. The program will work with the World Health Organization and Family Health International.
--$15 million to the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation to improve access to and use of antiretroviral drugs during labor and after birth to prevent transmission of HIV from mother to child.
--$7 million to Health System Trust of South Africa, part of a matching grant from the Henry Kaiser Family Foundation, to help fund loveLife.
--$1 million for Childreach, a program designed to assist in educational and medical resources for children living with or orphaned by HIV/AIDS.
--$445,000 for the Palliative Medical Institute that assists with medical and counseling services for people suffering from terminal illnesses in South Africa.
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