Mozambique: HIV/AIDS - UNDP Donates Over 900,000 US Dollars

MAPUTO, 25 August 2010 (allAfrica.com) — Mozambique's Public Service Ministry and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) signed on Monday in Maputo an agreement under which UNDP will provide 903,000 US dollars for the fight and prevention of HIV/AIDS in Mozambique.

The funds will be used in the prevention of HIV/AIDS among the country's 170,000 public servants.

This agreement was signed by UNDP representative Jocelyn Mason and Public Service Minister Victoria Diogo.

This sum is part of the Rapid Results Fund budgeted at 4.5 million US dollars to finance activities for the prevention and fight against HIV/AIDS, which includes the provision of food baskets for people living with the disease.

"UNDP renews its commitment, as part of the United Nations team in Mozambique, to continue its efforts to work hand in hand with the Mozambican Government and development partners for a society free from the scourge of HIV/AIDS," said Mason, speaking during the ceremony.

Victoria Diogo said that a survey conducted in 2008 covering 170,000 public servants found that about 32,000 were HIV positive. The same survey showed that about ten thousand employees needed antiretroviral drugs, with the death toll reaching about 1,600 per year.

Diogo stressed that public employees play a major role in the fight against the AIDS pandemic, as well as in the fight against the stigma associated with the disease.

Source: allafrica.com