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U.S. President George W. Bush announced the awards to RIP+, Le Soutien, Geneva Global, and other recipients during World AIDS Day ceremonies at the White House that included RIP+ Executive Director Ako Yapo Cyriaque (at right).

3 New PEPFAR Partners to Strengthen HIV/AIDS Prevention and Care in Ivorian Communities

Ivorians in dozens of communities will benefit from improved HIV/AIDS prevention and care, including services for people living with HIV/AIDS and vulnerable children, thanks to three major new grants awarded by the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).

Two Ivorian organizations and an international NGO working with Ivorian sub-partners are among 23 recipients worldwide of three-year grants under PEPFAR’s New Partners Initiative (NPI). They are:

RIP+ (Ivorian network of organizations of persons living with HIV/AIDS) will receive $1.56 million USD to build the capacity of its 26 member organizations nationwide to provide prevention, care, and support services for people living with HIV/AIDS and for orphans and vulnerable children and to promote HIV counseling and testing. The executive director of RIP+, Ako Yapo Cyriaque, attended the announcement of the grants by U.S. President George W. Bush at the White House on World AIDS Day.

Le Soutien, an NGO based in Yopougon, will receive $992,620 USD to improve the lives of orphans and vulnerable children in 30 villages around Danané, in western Cote d’Ivoire, through health care and economic, nutritional, educational, psychosocial, and spiritual support.

Geneva Global, a U.S.-based NGO, will receive $2 million USD to support 20-25 local faith- and community-based organizations to promote HIV prevention and to provide care and support for persons living with HIV/AIDS and for orphans and vulnerable children.

U.S. Ambassador Aubrey Hooks welcomed the planned HIV prevention and care programs and noted Cote d’Ivoire’s large share of the 23 grants awarded so far in worldwide NPI competition.

“We are particularly pleased that Cote d’Ivoire was among the most successful countries during the first round of PEPFAR’s New Partners Initiative,” Hooks said. “We believe this reflects the good work that is already being done here in the fight against HIV/AIDS, as well as the great potential of committed people working in community- and faith-based organizations across the country.”

The NPI is designed to engage and support new partners – community- or faith-based, non-profit or for-profit – that have strong local connections enabling them to reach persons in need of HIV/AIDS services. Organizational capacity building at the local level helps build local ownership and long-term sustainability of the response to the epidemic. Through the NPI, PEPFAR will provide $200 million worldwide for grants to new partners that have not previously received more than $5 million in U.S. government funding. For more information, please visit http://www.pepfarnpi.com.

The NPI will contribute to PEPFAR’s goals in Cote d’Ivoire of treating at least 77,000 HIV-positive persons with antiretroviral medications, preventing at least 265,000 new infections, and caring for at least 385,000 people infected or affected by HIV/AIDS, including orphans and vulnerable children. Working through about 100 partners and sub-partners (government ministries and local authorities, international and national NGOs, community- and faith-based organizations and networks), PEPFAR supports implementation of the national strategic plan for the fight against HIV/AIDS.