UN POPULATION FUND WELCOMES UNITED NATIONS FOUNDATION GRANTS

Press Release
POP/768

UN POPULATION FUND WELCOMES UNITED NATIONS FOUNDATION GRANTS

NEW YORK, 7 April (UNFPA) -- The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) today welcomed grants from the United Nations Foundation, which will help improve the lives of women and girls in Bangladesh and Honduras, and provide for HIV/AIDS prevention in Mozambique and Zimbabwe.

“UNFPA greatly appreciates the United Nations Foundation’s continued support for our work. These grants will make a real difference to the lives of women, girls and young people in these countries”, said Dr. Nafis Sadik, Executive Director of UNFPA.

The grant for improving reproductive health of adolescent girls in Bangladesh is for $808,489 over three years. The project aims to improve the reproductive health of adolescent girls in rural Bangladesh. To address issues of reproductive health care, the project uses peer education to introduce the concept of "personal social education", which emphasizes the individual's need to make informed choices about all aspects of personal life, including family life and education. A participatory approach -- adolescents are part of the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation -- will be used in this project.

For Honduras, UNFPA will receive a grant of $2.5 million over three-and- one-half years to set up social licensing of reproductive health clinics. The goal of this project is to test and develop a new model for non-governmental delivery of quality reproductive health services. A "social licence" will be offered to individuals who have the capacity to run their own businesses and have an understanding of reproductive health. The health clinics will provide comprehensive family planning services, detection and treatment of sexually transmitted infections, obstetric and gynaecological services, cervical cancer detection and treatment, pharmacy and other services to anyone visiting the centre, regardless of income, gender, age or marital status. This project expects to provide services to more than 450,000 low-income women, men and adolescents, with a special emphasis on young single women who are sexually active but have no children and are not using contraception.

UNFPA is a co-sponsor and partner of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), and as such is part of a United Nations Foundation- supported project in Zambezia Province, Mozambique, worth $2.8 million over three years. HIV/AIDS poses a serious threat to future development in

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Mozambique. An estimated 1.2 million Mozambican adults and children are living with HIV/AIDS. The north-central Zambezia Province, one of the most populous in Mozambique, has the third highest HIV prevalence rate in the country. This project aims to reduce the spread of HIV/AIDS in the province by developing the capacity of youth and other members of the community to build awareness and leadership in addressing HIV/AIDS. Youth-friendly health services will provide voluntary confidential counselling and testing for HIV/AIDS, distribution of condoms, treatment of sexually transmitted diseases, HIV/AIDS, family planning and sexual education. Counselling and health services for those who test positive for HIV will also be provided, as well as guidance for those living with HIV/AIDS.

In Zimbabwe, UNFPA is also working in partnership with UNAIDS on a project funded by the United Nations Foundation for $3.5 million over 3 years and 10 months. Zimbabwe faces one of the world's worst AIDS epidemics, with about 25 per cent of the adult population infected -- and nearly everyone impacted in one way or another. This project represents an integrated, multi- sectoral approach for responding to the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Zimbabwe. For example, peer education programmes will be employed to enhance self-esteem and create a social environment that enables young people to partake in safe behaviours. Advocacy efforts to increase the political, religious and private sector commitment to addressing HIV/AIDS are also part of the plan. The project also provides safe economic alternatives to prostitution for women supporting themselves and their families; and introduces ways to meet the needs of the growing number of children orphaned by AIDS.

UNFPA (www.unfpa.org) assists developing countries to improve reproductive health and family planning services on the basis of individual choice, and to formulate population policies in support of efforts towards sustainable development.

For more information, please contact Corrie Shanahan, tel: 212-297-5023, e-mail: shanahan@unfpa.org or Abubakar Dungus, tel: 212-297-5031, e-mail: dungus@unfpa.org

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