Global Fund To Provide $18.8M To Nepal To Fight HIV/AIDS, Malaria

The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and the Nepalese Ministry of Health yesterday signed a memorandum of understanding for the first two years of a five-year, $18.84 million grant to fight AIDS and malaria in Nepal, the Kathmandu Post reports. The country will use the money to fund prevention and treatment programs among migrant workers and young people (Kathmandu Post, 8/15). The money will be disbursed on an annual basis, with $2.03 million going to AIDS programs and $1 million going to malaria programs during the first year. The country plans to begin implementing the programs on Sept. 1. The first phase of the programs, which will be conducted by the Epidemiology and Disease Control Division of the Nepalese Health Ministry, will start in eight districts around the country. Health officials estimate that more than 60,000 HIV-positive people and more than 3,000 people with AIDS live in Nepal, according Xinhua News Agency (Xinhua News Agency, 8/15).