Press Release

OFID grants US$5.95 million to promote development

19/2007 June 14, 2007, Pörtschach, Carinthia, Austria,
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The Governing Board of the OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID) has approved grant financing totaling US$5.95 million in support of several major development initiatives. These fresh grants, commented Mr. Suleiman J. Al-Herbish, OFID Director-General, will support interventions that have been “deemed top priority by the donor community.” He added that the grants will help “ease suffering and address inequalities” that exist between the developing and industrialized nations.

A grant of US$2.5 million will help finance a project aimed at improving the quality of education in Palestine by introducing new-curriculum textbooks. Some 9.4 million books for grades 1-12 will be printed and distributed among Palestinian schools, benefiting at least one million pupils. Proceeds will be drawn from OFID’s Special Grant Account for Palestine.

Another grant of US$1.45 million will co-finance a joint OFID/World Food Program HIV/AIDS Initiative to enhance the availability of prevention, care and treatment services in Latin America and the Caribbean. The project will help strengthen the capacity of national governments and other relevant actors to integrate nutrition-related interventions within national HIV/AIDS programs. The funds will be drawn from OFID’s Special Grant Account for HIV/AIDS Operations.

A third grant of US$1.2 million will help finance agricultural research at eight research centers sponsored by the Consultative Group of International Agricultural Research. The Group aims at increasing food production in developing countries through research, training and technical assistance to national and regional programs.

A US$500,000 grant is being extended to the International Committee of the Red Cross Special Fund for the Disabled, in support of the Ho Chi Minh City Rehabilitation Center for the Disabled in Vietnam. The aim is to provide new-technology prosthetics and physical therapy services to those injured by landmines, particularly among underserved, disadvantaged communities.

The fifth grant of US$300,000 will support an International Atomic Energy Agency scheme to purchase radiotherapy equipment for the University Teaching Hospital in Montevideo, Uruguay. This project will not only enlarge treatment coverage for cancer patients, but will also strengthen capacities of medical students, oncologists and other specialized personnel.

Since its inception, OFID has provided more than US$391 million in grant support, including funding for technical assistance, research, emergency assistance and food aid.