Press Release

OPEC Fund extends grants worth US$4.2 million

54/2005 April 26, 2005, Vienna, Austria

The OPEC Fund for International Development today signed three grant agreements, totaling US$4.2 million, with the World Health Organization (WHO), the Arab Organization for Agricultural Development (AOAD) and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

The US$3.5 million grant to WHO will co-finance a joint OPEC Fund/WHO Project on Integrating HIV/AIDS Treatment in Health Systems in Africa. Participating countries are Angola, Benin, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana and Lesotho. To be implemented within the context of the WHO/UNAIDS “3 by 5 Initiative,” which seeks to expand access to antiretroviral therapy, the Fund-sponsored project will focus on building capacities for the scaling-up of effective treatment delivery. The grant will be drawn from the Fund’s Special Account for HIV/AIDS.

A grant of US$400,000 will support an AOAD project on Increasing Public Awareness on Efficient Water Use in Arab Countries. The aim of the project is encourage a more sustainable use of water for agricultural purposes. The project will utilize a variety of information media to alert farmers to the critical water situation and suggest conservation measures. The Fund grant will directly support a component aimed at training farmers and rural women on how to optimize the use of limited water resources.

The third grant, for US$300,000, will co-finance a UNHCR project on the Reintegration of Burundian Returnees in their communities of origin. Activities include the provision of community housing and basic social infrastructure, as well as vocational skills training and small enterprise development to encourage self-reliance. The Fund grant will specifically co-finance the construction of 4,000 shelters in the provinces of Muyinga and Kirundo, together with the building of a school and refurbishment of a health center.

The agreements were signed, on behalf of the OPEC Fund, by Mr. Suleiman J. Al-Herbish, Director-General, and by Dr. Salem Al-Lozi, Director General, AOAD; Mrs. W. Chamberlin, Acting High Commissioner, UNHCR; and, Dr. Kazem Behbehani, Assistant Director-General, External Relations and Governing Bodies, WHO.