USAID Announces Youth-Focused HIV/AIDS Programs In Ethiopia

The U.S.
Agency for International Development (USAID) awarded a $500,000 grant to
the YMCA of the USA to combat HIV/AIDS in Ethiopia. The program will
provide youth access to basic HIV prevention education and vital medical
services and improve existing care and prevention programs in five
underserved communities in the cities of Addis Ababa and Adama. It will
also build community networks by means of youth-led volunteer services. The
program is funded as a part of President Bush's Emergency Plan for AIDS
Relief (PEPFAR) and YMCA has agreed to leverage matching resources at a
ratio of at least 2:1.



Approximately 2.2 percent of more than 80 million people in Ethiopia
are HIV positive, and, according to Ethiopian authorities, over 880,000
children have been orphaned as a result of AIDS. In order to confront this
mounting crisis, the YMCA AIDS Volunteerism and Community Engagement
(ADVANCE) program seeks to improve the health knowledge and practices of
50,000 youth and young adults between the ages of 10 and 29, as well as
provide care and support services for 5,000 orphans and vulnerable children
in these communities by July 2011.



The aim of the program is to educate and empower young people from
within the community to raise awareness and compassion for individuals
living with HIV/AIDS, as well as for orphans and vulnerable children. YMCA
will recruit and train hundreds of Ethiopian youths to become peer
educators who will spread prevention and care information, work towards
building a strong sense of community, and refer members of the community to
health facilities.



Youth education and recreation programs hosted at participating YMCA
branches in Ethiopia will be expanded and improved upon in order to provide
both life-saving information to and a reliable safe haven for those
suffering from or vulnerable to HIV/AIDS. YMCA will cooperate with local
schools, community leaders, and social service agencies to identify orphans
and vulnerable children in need of educational and recreational support in
order to learn how to function as a valuable member of a community.



USAID is dedicated to developing sustainable programs that will remain
salient to these communities and its efforts promise to have a resounding
impact on community members for years to come.



For more information about USAID's programs in Ethiopia and around the
world, please visit usaid.



The American people, through the U.S. Agency for International
Development, have provided economic and humanitarian assistance worldwide
for nearly 50 years.


U.S. Agency for International Development

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