World Bank approves $500 million to fight AIDS in Africa

By Janet Guttsman

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- The World Bank on Tuesday approved a $500 million credit line to help Africa cope with the scourge of AIDS and said it would ask its board to approve an additional $85 million for countries in the Caribbean.

The bank said some $110 million would be disbursed immediately to Kenya and Ethiopia, and more countries should soon be eligible for cash.

"Last April we promised that no sensible AIDS program in Africa would want for funding," World Bank President James Wolfensohn said in a statement announcing the credit.

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"Today, we deliver on that promise. We hope this program will help break the silence and inspire every country that needs help to ask for it."

Some 24.5 million of the world's 34.5 million AIDS sufferers live in Africa and experts say the continent needs $3 billion a year to fight the disease and pay for education, drugs and other medical care.

The World Bank said 15 million people in Africa had already died from AIDS, with devastating consequences on countries and societies.

"The ultimate impact of the multi-country AIDS program will be to avert millions of HIV infections, alleviate suffering for tens of millions, and help preserve the development prospects of entire nations," Wolfensohn said.

Countries will qualify for the World Bank help if they can provide evidence that they are drawing up a "strategic approach" to fight the deadly disease.

Governments must be ready to channel grant aid directly to communities, civil societies and the private sector and countries must be poor enough to qualify for World Bank concessionary loans, which charge nominal interest rates.

"One of the most important features of the (program) is the participation of communities and of associations of people affected by HIV/AIDS in the design and implementation of activities at the village level," the bank said. "The program will channel resources directly to them and help finance their own local initiatives in response to the epidemic."

It added: "The new approach in Africa is part of the World Bank's expanding global effort on HIV/AIDS. From 1996-2000, the Bank committed approximately $493 million for new HIV/AIDS components and stand-alone projects in 39 countries. For 2001-2003, an additional $345 million has already been earmarked for global HIV/AIDS prevention and care."

The bank said separately it would ask its board to approve between $85 million and $100 million for AIDS programs in the Caribbean.

"Caribbean leaders have recognized the gravity of the AIDS epidemic and are prepared to fight it," Orsalia Kalantzopoulos, World Bank Director for the Caribbean, told a conference in Barbados.

"This is now accepted as a critical development priority, one that encompasses much more than health issues, but also social and economic ones."

Copyright 2000 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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