Red Cross Calls for $300M for HIV/AIDS Program in Southern Africa
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies on Wednesday urged donors to provide $300 million for its HIV/AIDS program in Southern Africa, the Associated Press reports. The program is part of the new International Federation Global HIV and AIDS Alliance, which seeks to prevent new HIV cases and bolster treatment and support, according to IFRC (Associated Press, 11/1). The five-year initiative will cover Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe, Francoise Le Goff, IFRC's chief representative in the region, said. She added that the program aims to reach 50 million people, as well as provide services to more than 250,000 HIV-positive people and 460,000 children who have lost at least one parent to AIDS-related illnesses (AFP/Mail & Guardian, 11/1). IFRC's funding for HIV/AIDS initiatives in Southern Africa will be depleted within three months, and the lives of 100,000 HIV-positive people and 200,000 volunteers in the region will be in jeopardy if there is a funding shortfall, Le Goff said (Bobb, VOA News, 11/1). She added that the program relies on volunteers and people living with HIV/AIDS and focuses on vulnerable populations (IFRC release, 11/1). Le Goff also said aid agencies and governments should collaborate to avoid duplication and "move the overall response to this epidemic to a larger scale" (AFP/Mail & Guardian, 11/1).
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