Press Release

OPEC Fund and UNICEF join forces to fight HIV/AIDS among street children

71/2005 June 15, 2005, Seefeld, Tyrol, Austria
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The OPEC Fund for International Development today approved a grant of US$4 million to co-finance a Mother/Child Global Project to Fight HIV/AIDS. The project, which was initiated by the Fund, will be implemented jointly with UNICEF and aims to assist orphans, street children and vulnerable mothers by providing care, protection and social services. Activities will focus on 17 selected countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America and the Caribbean.

The impact of HIV/AIDS on children is severe. To date, 14 million youngsters have lost one or both parents to the virus, a tally that is expected to exceed 25 million by 2010. Many millions more have been pushed into poverty or made more vulnerable as a result of the epidemic. As well as suffering the loss of loved ones, these children also have to endure the discrimination associated with AIDS and are at greater risk of contracting the virus themselves.

The joint OPEC Fund/UNICEF project will concentrate on three areas: care, protection and support for orphans and vulnerable children; HIV prevention and life skills development for street children; prevention of mother to child transmission of HIV, with care and support for mothers.

The project embraces a wide range of activities, which will be tailored to the individual needs of the participating countries. Specifically, these include: revision of national policies, strategies and action plans for the protection and care of orphans and street children; provision of medical care, counseling and social assistance; establishment of community centers; training of health care workers; awareness campaigns; assistance to families willing to sponsor orphans; and, capacity building to incorporate prevention of mother to child transmission of HIV into national health systems.

The OPEC Fund contribution will be drawn from its HIV/AIDS Special Grant Account, which was launched in 2001 with an initial endowment of US$15 million. Subsequent replenishments have boosted the account to US$50 million. Fund-sponsored projects are currently ongoing in all developing regions of the world, in association with lead agencies such as UNAIDS, UNESCO, UNFPA, UNECA, WHO and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.