This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
Listen
Scotland helping fight AIDS in Malawi
01/12/2005
Scottish-based aid agencies are helping tackle Malawi's HIV/AIDS epidemic backed by over £1.2 million from the Executive.
Earlier this month Scotland and Malawi signed a co-operation agreement to work together in several areas including HIV/AIDS treatment and care.
Minister with responsibility for International Development Patricia Ferguson said:
"Today is World Aids Day and I want to recognise the efforts of Scottish-based aid agencies fighting HIV/AIDS in Malawi.
"The latest official figures on the AIDS epidemic make for grim reading. Ominously, the epidemic continues to outstrip global efforts to contain it.
"These projects offer practical support from skilled professionals and volunteers working alongside their Malawian colleagues.
"It's also about our sharing common humanity, supporting Malawian people in their efforts to deal with a devastating pandemic sweeping through their country."
The funding is part of the International Development Fund, which distributes £3 million a year to help some of the world's poorest people.
The latest update on the AIDS epidemic, the UNAIDS report 2005, shows that the national prevalence among antenatal attendees remains significantly high in Malawi at around 20 per cent.
The following projects working in Malawi have received over £1.2 million from the Executive's International Development Fund for the next three years:
Lothian support for skills exchange in antiretroviral therapy for HIV/AIDS - Lothian/Zambia Partnership
Clinical support is being offered by Lothian clinicians whose expertise in developing appropriate clinical care packages for those infected with HIV arises from Lothian's own experiences during the 80s' of dealing with AIDS. Clinicians are providing mentoring and clinical support to major centres in Malawi where ART is being rolled out.
Total Funding - £118,000 over three years
Community Support for Women, Orphans and Vulnerable Children in Malawi - Interact Worldwide
Interact worldwide are working with Malawian partners to provide support to strengthen the response to HIV/AIDS in Malawi through building capacity within civil society. This work specifically empowers women who are at the forefront of the AIDS pandemic, both as carers and also as those most susceptible to infection.
Total Funding - £207,00 over two years.
Empowering communities to provide high quality care for people living with HIV, Malawi - Tearfund UK
Tearfund are specifically working with Malawi church partners to engage young people to reduce the transmission of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections.
They are establishing peer education among young people, working with village elders and chiefs to strengthen the community's ability to respond to the pandemic and providing assistance to families to reduce the economic and social impact of AIDS
Total Funding - £251,000 over three years
Child Support Project, Malawi
This project has a specific focus on developing care for young people and children affected and infected by HIV/AIDs, supporting them to remain in their homes, and supporting extended family networks to provide care. Total Funding - £241k over 3 years
Developing Malawi's Millennium Development Goals - Oxfam in Malawi and Scotland
Oxfam are working with partners in Malawi to ensure improved and sustainable livelihoods for 30,000 households affected by the impact of HIV/AIDS in Southern Malawi, strengthening their capacity to realise their rights and influence national decision making.
Total Funding - £250,000 over three years
HIV Connections: Malawi and Scotland. Shared vision, collaboration and learning - Christian Aid Scotland
Christian Aid are supporting their partners in Malawi to provide a multi-focused programme which involves initiating treatment supportive environments enabling those who have commenced ART to be effectively cared for in their communities, supporting home based carers to provide excellent care with equipment ( essential kits which include gloves, cream, food, medicine) and pastoral, educational support to reduce burn out of these essential community carers who carry the burden of caring for those incapacitated with AIDS.
Total Funding - £199,000