U.S. PEPFAR Awards Small Grants to 25 Community Based Organizations
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pepfar
NR/1164/09/28/2017
CONTACT: Janet Deutsch
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Public Affairs Officer
September 28, 2017 Phone: 357000
On September 19, 2017, the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) awarded grants to 25 community-based organizations totaling more than $260,000 and covering nine Zambian provinces through its U.S. PEPFAR small grants program. The projects work in the areas of HIV and AIDS prevention, care and support of orphans and vulnerable children (OVC), and democracy and governance related to the national HIV response.
Speaking at the award ceremony, PEPFAR Coordinator Bethany Baxter highlighted that community-based work is essential for a sustainable HIV response. She stated to the recipient organization representatives, “You recognized unmet needs in your communities and created solutions. Many of your organizations are entirely staffed by volunteers—dedicated community members. We hope with this initial support your programs will grow and thrive. “This year’s small grants program included projects from Eastern, Western, Luapula, Northern, and Muchinga Provinces for the first time and increased funding by almost one million Kwacha, or $100,000, over last year’s program.
National AIDS Council General Director Fortune Chibamba also attended the opening ceremony and stated, “These may be small grants, but believe me, when directed to 25 organizations in nine out of ten provinces of Zambia, these grants have a huge potential to make a difference in people’s lives. The recipients are organizations that are anchored in the community where the need is profound and are meant to benefit the people that need genuine support.”
Zambia has received more than $3 billion from the U.S. government’s PEPFAR program for its national HIV response since 2004.
