President Bush's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief to Award $100 Million to Help Orphans and Vulnerable Children
WASHINGTON, DC 20523
PRESS OFFICE
http://www.usaid.gov/
Press: (202) 712-4320
Public Information: (202) 712-4810
2004-098
October 25, 2004
Contact: USAID Press Office
WASHINGTON, DC (OCT. 20) - The Bush Administration announced today $100 million in new grants to support orphans and vulnerable children as a part of the President's $15 billion, five-year Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief. Eleven organizations, including five faith-based organizations, won the five-year grants through a competitive awards process.
In 2003, more than 15 million children worldwide under age 18 had lost one or both parents to AIDS. By 2010, it is estimated that more than 25 million children will have lost at least one parent to AIDS.
Each U.S. grant will provide care and support to orphans and vulnerable children affected by HIV/AIDS in at least two of the 15 focus countries of the President's Emergency Plan. The focus countries, which are home to more than 50 percent of HIV infections worldwide, are: Botswana, Cote d'Ivoire, Ethiopia, Guyana, Haiti, Kenya, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Vietnam and Zambia The U.S. Agency for International Development will oversee the programs.
On June 23 in Philadelphia, President Bush commented on children affected by HIV/AIDS: "You've got 14- and 15-year-old kids raising their brothers and sisters. So part of the effort is to provide love and hope for these brave young kids who have been handed an incredibly tough burden, an awesome burden."
Ambassador Randall Tobias, the U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator, added: "Children cannot reach their potential if they're locked in a struggle for daily survival. With our investment today, America is offering hope to hard-hit communities by helping them develop the capacity to support their children in the future."
Organizations winning grants to support orphans and vulnerable children are:
- Africare - Washington, D.C.;
- Association of Volunteers in International Service - New York, New York;
- Christian Aid - Waterloo, London;
- Christian Children's Fund - Richmond, Virginia;
- Family Health International - Durham, North Carolina;
- HOPE Worldwide - Wayne, Pennsylvania;
- Plan International - Warwick, Rhode Island;
- Project Concern -- San Diego, California;
- Project Hope - Millwood, Virginia;
- Salvation Army World Services - Alexandria, Virginia; and
- World Concern - Seattle, Washington.
With millions of children and families affected by HIV/AIDS, the pandemic has effects beyond individual children's lives, devastating families and communities. The new grants seek to address the complex and interconnected needs of orphans and vulnerable children affected by HIV/AIDS. Strategic areas include:
- Supporting families to protect and care for their children;
- Mobilizing and strengthening community-based responses;
- Increasing the capacity for children and young people to respond to their own needs;
- Ensuring that host governments develop policies and provide essential services for the most vulnerable children; and
- Raising awareness to create an environment that enables support for children affected by HIV/AIDS.
The President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief currently operates in more then 100 countries around the world, with a special focus on 15 severely affected countries. In the 15 focus nations over the next five years, Emergency Plan goals include supporting treatment of at least two million HIV-infected persons with anti-retroviral therapy, preventing seven million new infections, and caring for 10 million persons infected with or affected by HIV, including orphans and vulnerable children.
The U.S. Agency for International Development has provided economic and humanitarian assistance worldwide for more than 40 years.
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