Press Release

OFID releases US$11 million in grant assistance to promote development

08/2007 March 13, 2007 Vienna, Austria
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The Governing Board of the OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID) has approved record grant financing totaling US$11 million in support of several major development initiatives. These grants, announced OFID Director-General Mr. Suleiman J. Al-Herbish, were a sterling example of the institution’s “steadfast commitment” to helping bring developing countries “one step closer” towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals.

Two of the new grants will be drawn from OFID’s Special Grant Account for HIV/AIDS Operations:

• US$4 million will co-finance a joint initiative with the Clinton Foundation to boost the availability of adult and paediatric HIV/AIDS medical services in Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Mali, Mozambique, Namibia, Senegal and Tanzania. It is anticipated that some 45,000 children and 132,000 adults will be able to receive high-quality care and treatment.
• US$1.5 million will support a joint program with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees for internally displaced persons and returnees in Côte d’Ivoire and Liberia. The primary goal of the initiative is to insure that vulnerable groups receive a full spectrum of HIV/AIDS support services.

Two other grants will be drawn from OFID’s Special Grant Account for Palestine:

• US$1.5 million will sponsor a population census that will be carried out by the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, along with assistance of the United Nations Population Fund. The census will cover the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza Strip, and will help provide the Palestinian Authority and local government with the data needed for development planning, policy formulation and administration.
• US$3 million will be distributed among 15 health centers, clinics, hospitals and rehabilitation centers to enable them to continue carrying out their urgently-needed services to the Palestinian community. Also, proceeds will help finance activities ranging from procuring medical equipment and supplies, to expanding facilities and providing inexpensive/free healthcare to low-income families.

A fifth grant of US$600,000 will sponsor an initiative of the International Center of Insect Physiology and Ecology to help boost rural incomes in Egypt, the Sudan and Yemen, by teaching communities beekeeping and silkworm raising technologies. Proceeds from the sixth grant of US$400,000 will support a social development project in Pakistan that aims at reducing infant/child morbidity and mortality from diarrheal disease and boosting literacy by establishing adult literacy centers.

Since its inception, OFID has provided more than US$379 million in grant support, including funding for technical assistance, research, emergency assistance and food aid.