Press Release

Grants totaling US$6.5 million approved by OFID to bolster development

80/2006 September 12, 2006, Vienna, Austria
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The Governing Board of the OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID) has approved fresh grant financing totaling US$6.5 million in support of several social causes.

Under the auspices of OFID's Special Grant Account for Palestine, US$6 million will support initiatives aimed at alleviating social distress and hardship among communities in the West Bank and Gaza as follows:

• US$4 million will co-finance Phase III of a multi-donor credit scheme that will help needy students at selected Palestinian universities and colleges cover the cost of tuition and living expenses. An estimated 81,000 students are expected to benefit from this initiative. Phases I and II received similar support from OFID with grants totaling US$4 million.
• US$2 million will support an initiative of the World Food Program to provide assistance to food insecure communities. Severely affected households and people in hospitals, orphanages and homes for the elderly will receive monthly food rations. Additionally, Food-For-Work schemes will enable individuals to partake in activities to help rebuild their communities, such as constructing or rehabilitating water supply and sanitation systems or repairing roads. Similarly, Food-For-Training programs will offer literacy classes and courses in income-generation activities, for which women will comprise almost three-quarters of the participants.

Furthermore, a US$500,000 grant will co-finance an initiative of the International Atomic Energy Agency, a Program of Action for Cancer Therapy. The program will establish pilot studies and conduct cancer control needs assessments in Tanzania, Nicaragua and Albania. The initiative also aims at expanding activities to provide appropriate cancer therapy to other developing countries and implement relevant capacity-building and institution-strengthening measures.

Since its inception, OFID has approved a total of US$360 million in grant support, which includes funding for technical assistance, research studies and humanitarian aid. Other activities covered are the special grant accounts for HIV/AIDS prevention and care operations, as well as food aid to combat the hunger crisis in Africa.