Namibia benefits from Gates AIDS grant

WASHINGTON – The International Center for Research on Women ( ICRW) and four key international partners will join forces with African parliamentarians to accelerate efforts to help women fight HIV-AIDS and other infectious diseases in East and southern Africa.

The three-year initiative, funded with a US$3,4 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, will work with selected parliamentarians in Botswana, Kenya, Namibia and Tanzania to bolster womens and girls access to health services, including HIV-AIDS treatment, prevention and care, ICRW said in a statement. Described as groundbreaking, the project seeks to expand MPs’ skills and knowledge on women’s health by providing technical assistance and facilitating linkages to communities and women living with HIV and AIDS.National and regional conferences on critical women’s health issues also will be organised.In addition to ICRW, the international partners engaged in the project include: European Parliamentarians for Africa (Awepa); Centre for the Study of AIDS at the University of Pretoria (CSA); International Community of Women Living with HIV-AIDS (ICW); and Realising Rights: The Ethical Globalisation Initiative (EGI).”Political will and leadership are fundamental to improving women’s access to health services,” ICRW President Geeta Rao Gupta says.”The uniqueness of this project is that it brings together the parliamentarians as national leaders, the project partners – with their extensive field expertise – and women and communities living with HIV and AIDS.”* The International Center for Research on Women is a leading international research organisation based in Washington, D.C.Described as groundbreaking, the project seeks to expand MPs’ skills and knowledge on women’s health by providing technical assistance and facilitating linkages to communities and women living with HIV and AIDS.National and regional conferences on critical women’s health issues also will be organised.In addition to ICRW, the international partners engaged in the project include: European Parliamentarians for Africa (Awepa); Centre for the Study of AIDS at the University of Pretoria (CSA); International Community of Women Living with HIV-AIDS (ICW); and Realising Rights: The Ethical Globalisation Initiative (EGI).”Political will and leadership are fundamental to improving women’s access to health services,” ICRW President Geeta Rao Gupta says.”The uniqueness of this project is that it brings together the parliamentarians as national leaders, the project partners – with their extensive field expertise – and women and communities living with HIV and AIDS.”* The International Center for Research on Women is a leading international research organisation based in Washington, D.C.