Grant Operations in 2001 - Technical Assistance

Grant Operations in 2001

Technical Assistance

African Program for Onchocerciasis Control in Africa (APOC)

Sector: Health
Purpose: To support the river blindness eradication campaign
Amount: $400,000
Approved: November 6, 2001
Total cost: $67.6 million
Co-financiers: World Bank and the following donor countries: Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Hungary, Kuwait, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Switzerland, United Kingdom
Implementing agencies: WHO, ministries of 19 African countries, NGOs, local communities
Grant administrator: OPEC Fund

Onchocerciasis, or river blindness, is spread through the bite of a small, black fly that breeds in fast moving rivers and streams. When the fly bites its victim, microscopic larvae are released into the bloodstream and, in many cases, their migration to the eye region can cause irreversible blindness. Of the 120 million people worldwide who are at risk of contracting onchocerciasis, 96% are in Africa. This grant will support Phase II of the African Program for Onchocerciasis Control in Africa (APOC), an initiative established in 1995 to build on the success of an earlier, highly successful, control program. APOC covers 19 African countries, representing some 60 million people, and its primary aim is to establish a system known as Community-Directed Treatment (ComDT). ComDT involves providing high-risk populations, at least once a year, with the drug Mectizan® to kill the larvae before damage can begin. The program also supports a number of prevention and protection schemes. Phase I ended in 2001, with Phase II being brought into effect in 2002. Objectives will remain the same, with the addition of goals to work at a district level to raise awareness of the entire program and build support for future activities. These efforts will enable APOC to eventually integrate ComDT into the national health system and expand its coverage to similarly treatable diseases such as elephantiasis.

Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR)

Sector: Agriculture
Purpose: To support agricultural research
Amount: $470,000 (in four separate grants of $100,000 each and one grant of $70,000)
Approved: June 13, 2001
Total cost: $3.2 million
Implementing agencies: CIMMYT, CIP, ICARDA, ICRISAT and ILRI
Grant administrator: OPEC Fund

The grants will help finance agricultural research at five research centers sponsored by CGIAR whose common objective is to increase food production in developing countries through research, training and technical assistance to national and regional programs. Specifically, the grants will support important research at CIMMYT (the International Center for the Improvement of Maize and Germplasm), ICARDA (International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas), ICRISAT (International Crops Research Institute for Semi-Arid Tropics), ILRI (International Livestock Research Institute) and CIP (International Potato Center). The grants will finance research in strengthening resistance to the maize streak virus in East Africa (CIMMYT), maximizing barley yields in North Africa (ICARDA), expanding groundnut production in Asia (ICRISAT), increasing ruminant livestock production in the tropics (ILRI), and developing late blight-resistant potatoes and beta carotene-rich sweet potatoes (CIP).

CIP, the Peru-based International Potato Center, conducts research on the Incas’ nutritious tubers and helps make them popular worldwide.

Development Aid from People to People

Sector: Multi-sectoral
Purpose: To help vulnerable children and adolescents in Zambia
Amount: $150,000
Approved: November 6, 2001
Total cost: $378,670
Co-financiers: CIDA, Ministry of Education and other donors
Implementing agency: Development Aid from People to People (DAPP)
Grant administrator: OPEC Fund

In Zambia, more than 80% of the population lives below the poverty line and over 600,000 children are currently threatened by homelessness, chronic illness and malnutrition. At the same time, the spread of HIV/AIDS has significantly increased the number of school-aged orphans, who struggle to make a living through casual labor, street vending or petty theft. In 1990, DAPP, a non-governmental, charity organization, established The Children's Town, a center for education and development, in the marginalized rural district of Chibombo. Comprising six children's houses, primary and vocational schools and a community center, the facility is home to 120 former street children. In addition to educating resident children, the primary school offers tuition to 140 other orphans and disadvantaged local children. The youngsters also receive practical skills training and are encouraged to participate in the town's enterprises, which include vegetable growing, livestock raising, artistic pursuits and carpentry. The vocational school is used as a training center for some 50 vulnerable youths from all over Zambia and focuses on agriculture and business skills. These students are selected from rural communities and later return there to practice and disseminate their knowledge and establish small enterprises. This grant will help cover the operating expenses of The Children's Town over the next two years, including educational and household materials and equipment, clothing and food.

The Children’s Town provides a home for 120 former street children, primary schooling for 140 orphans and disadvantaged local children, and vocational training for 50 youths.

Guatemala

Sector: Multi-sectoral
Purpose: To support social productivity and literacy program
Amount: $116,000
Approved: March 27, 2001
Total cost: $303,000
Co-financiers: Fundación Dolores Bedoya de Molina, Ministry of Education of Guatemala, beneficiary communities
Implementing agencies: Fundación Dolores Bedoya de Molina, Ministry of Education of Guatemala
Grant administrator: OPEC Fund

Guatemala is characterized by an uneven distribution of land and income, with around two-thirds of the population living in extreme poverty. In rural regions, illiteracy rates are higher than those in urban areas, as are the rising number of unskilled workers, due largely to the need for many individuals to start working at an early age to help support their families. In response this situation, the Fundación Dolores Bedoya de Molina, a registered, non-governmental organization, launched a program aimed at boosting social productivity and literacy, and alleviating poverty in selected rural communities. This multi-faceted initiative will target farming villages in the central department of Alta Verapaz, an area where small-scale agriculture is vital. Some 100 families will take part in a basic literacy program and learn how to set up and manage small enterprises. Afterwards, they will be eligible to receive a small loan to help them start their own businesses. In addition to traditional farming pursuits, other alternatives such as horticulture, fish breeding and livestock raising will be presented. Emphasis on promoting the concept of the Family as a Team will encourage all family members, particularly women, to contribute towards the household's income-generating activities. Once the training cycle is completed, participants will be able to pass on their newly-acquired skills to benefit other communities.

In Guatemala, the Fundación Dolores Bedoya de Molina supports schools and literacy programs, provides small loans to micro-entrepreneurs and helps the poor develop new income-generating activities.

International Center for Biosaline Agriculture

Sector: Agriculture
Purpose: To help strengthen human resources in biosaline research
Amount: $200,000
Approved: November 6, 2001
Total cost: $1.35 million
Co-financier: IsDB
Implementing agency: International Center for Biosaline Agriculture (ICBA)
Grant administrator: OPEC Fund

This grant was extended to support the establishment of training facilities and programs at ICBA, a non-profit resource center founded in 1998 to address the challenges facing arid and semi-arid regions over the scarcity of water resources for drinking and agricultural purposes. Upgraded in February 2001, its objectives are to develop sustainable management systems for the irrigation of forage and food crops with saline water, and to identify salt-tolerant plant species. To improve its training capacity, ICBA plans to establish an on-site training facility offering a wide range of courses for scientists, technicians, engineers and small farmers. Topics to be covered include: the design and management of irrigation systems for bio- saline agriculture; the production and management of salt-tolerant forages and tree species; agro-ecological surveys and germplasm collection; and, the reclamation of salt-affected soils for sustainable agriculture. Alongside these activities, ICBA also intends to further develop its newly established Electronic Global Biosaline Network, a tool designed to enhance technology exchange on biosalinity research among member countries, in order to avoid duplication of efforts.

The salt tolerant date palm, one of the plants ICBA is studying.

Organization of African Unity

Sector: Health
Purpose: To help finance the African Summit on HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Other Related Infectious Diseases
Amount: $200,000
Approved: March 27, 2001
Total cost: $1.89 million
Co-financiers: OAU member states, AfDB, BADEA, UNAIDS, UNDP, UNECA,UNICEF, WHO and World Bank
Implementing agency: Organization of African Unity (OAU)
Grant administrator: OPEC Fund

This grant helped finance a top-level summit on HIV/AIDS that was held in Abuja, Nigeria, from April 26-27, 2001. Bringing together heads of state and government, ministers and experts, the aims of the African Summit on HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Other Related Infectious Diseases were to work out a sustainable solution to the suffering caused by HIV/AIDS on the continent. The Summit, which was hosted by the Federal Government of Nigeria and co-financed by member states of the OAU, along with UNAIDS, WHO, UNICEF and others, served as a major launching pad for a new level of collective action against HIV/AIDS. A critical appraisal was made of current HIV/AIDS prevention strategies and other disease control methods and a new set of goals drafted at a preparatory meeting of ministers and experts. In addition, a unified plan of action was formed, embracing a legislative framework for national, regional and continental initiatives on containment of HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and other infectious diseases. At a wider level, the Summit helped sensitize the international community to the problems associated with HIV/AIDS, leading to increased political commitment and greater resource mobilization.

Palestine
1.

Sector: Health
Purpose: Completion of rehabilitation center
Amount: $200,000
Approved: March 27, 2001
Total cost: $1.4 million
Co-financiers: H.R.H. Prince Hamad Bin Khalifa of Qatar, Fundación Del Valle, Palestinian Authority, local contributors
Implementing agencies: The Union of Health Care Committees (UHCC), Fundación Del Valle
Grant administrator: OPEC Fund

This grant supports a project to complete the Amal Center for the Rehabilitation of the Handicapped in Nablus, Palestine. The initiative is being spearheaded by the UHCC, a non-profit, non-governmental organization, in cooperation with the Spanish charity Fundación del Valle. The Center has been operating at limited capacity since opening in July 2000 because of a lack of certain essential facilities. Without these services, the center is unable to accommodate the growing number of patients suffering from injuries and disabilities. Outstanding works include the installation of a central heating system and a switchboard, as well as two electric ceiling lifts in the hydrotherapy unit. Two workshops will be constructed for manufacturing prosthetics, artificial joints and corrective shoes. An ambulance will be purchased that will double up as a mobile medical unit to provide the handicapped living in rural areas with regular medical care. Two vocational workshops will offer rehabilitative training programs in wood and copper works. Once completed, the Amal Center will be prepared to receive patients from the cities of Nablus, Jenin, Tulkarem, Qalqilia, Ramallah, eight refugee camps, and some 259 small villages, serving at least 430,000 people.

2.

Sector: Health
Purpose: To help strengthen health care sector
Amount: $350,000
Approved: June 13, 2001
Total cost: $2.3 million
Sponsoring NGOs: Palestinian Red Crescent Society, Patient's Friends Society and Zakat Fund Committee
Grant administrator: Arab Fund

Since the onset of the Al-Aqsa Intifada in late September 2000, the Palestinians' medical needs have burgeoned, severely overtaxing the region's health care sector. NGOs have been at the forefront in providing medical supplies, emergency services and health care to the victims of the clashes, as well as psychological counseling. In addition, they have absorbed the rehabilitation and hospitalization costs of patients experiencing economic hardship. However, as a result of shouldering these extra expenses, the organizations have been forced to draw from their annual budgets and are in urgent need of additional funds. The Fund grant will be divided among the following: The Zakat Fund Committee in Jenin, West Bank will receive $120,000 towards the purchase of medical equipment for the Al-Razi Hospital; The Palestinian Red Crescent Society in Qalqilia will procure a fully-equipped ambulance with a $90,000 grant; and, the Patient's Friends Society, which runs the Al-Ahli Hospital in Hebron, will use their $140,000 grant to help finance the purchase of an oxygen concentrator.

An ambulance purchased for the Amal Center in Nablus will double as a mobile medical unit.

Peru

Sector: Health
Purpose: To strengthen maternal health care delivery
Amount: $200,000
Approved: August 28, 2001
Total cost: $800,000
Co-financiers: UNICEF, Spanish National Committee
Implementing agencies: Ministry of Health of Peru/Spanish National Committee, UNICEF, beneficiary communities
Grant administrator: OPEC Fund

Although Peru has made progress in reforming its health care sector, maternal and infant mortality rates remain inordinately high, especially in rural areas. As health care centers are under-equipped and widely dispersed, most women are unable to receive pre-natal care, and few have access to trained birth attendants. UNICEF, in cooperation with Peru's Ministry of Health, has established a program in nine provinces in the departments of Cajamarca, Cuzco and Apurimec, areas with the lowest health care coverage. A series of workshops will be held addressing issues such as identifying gaps in the existing health care delivery system, and determining what supplies are needed to offer adequate pre- and postnatal care. Health care workers will learn how to handle obstetrical emergencies through internships at specialized centers, and all staff will receive training in women's rights and child rearing practices. Women with high-risk pregnancies will be able to receive household visits from qualified medical personnel. Throughout the entire initiative, a strong focus will be placed on the aspects of community education, social mobilization, gender equality and cultural sensitivity in providing maternal health services.

A UNICEF-led initiative in rural Peru is focusing on improving health care delivery, especially for mothers and their children.

The Sudan

Sector: Health
Purpose: Basic health and nutrition emergency project
Amount: $200,000
Approved: June 13, 2001
Total cost: $4.3 million
Co-financiers: CIDA, EU and UNICEF
Implementing agencies: UNICEF, NGOs, Ministry of Health of the Sudan
Grant administrator: OPEC Fund

This grant supports a UNICEF-led special emergency project that will bring medical services to the most vulnerable populations living in the Darfur, Kordofan, Upper Nile, White Nile, Gezira and Gedaref regions. Using a community-based approach, disease prevention strategies include purchasing syringes, needles and "cold chain" equipment, holding national immunization days for polio, training lab technicians in the proper storage and maintenance of serum supplies, and vaccinating babies and women of childbearing age against tetanus. Around 120 health workers will receive instruction in the integrated management of childhood illnesses. Nutritional campaigns will take place in the form of iron supplement distribution to pregnant women and Vitamin A doses to all children under five years of age, as well as the promotion of salt iodization. Additionally, feeding centers will be set up to help prevent protein energy malnutrition. A safe motherhood program will also be implemented, with rural hospitals and maternity clinics being supplied with emergency obstetrical equipment, as well as offering pre- and postnatal care. In addition, 60 village midwives will receive an intensive training course. Other health care centers will receive stocks of essential drugs. Anti-malarial measures include providing high-incidence areas with insecticides, treated bed nets and medications.

West Asia

Sector: Agriculture
Purpose: To arrest and reverse desertification in dryland areas
Amount: $350,000
Approved: August 28, 2001
Total cost: $4.9 million
Co-financiers: ACSAD, ICARDA, GM-UNCCD, UNDP and UNEP
Implementing agencies: ACSAD, ICARDA, GM-UNCCD and National Institution of Member States
Grant administrator: OPEC Fund

This grant was given in support of a multi-partner initiative to arrest and reverse desertification in the dry areas of West Asia. Coordinated by the GM-UNCCD, aims of this undertaking are to establish a number of representative pilot projects in ten countries aimed at the integrated management of natural resources. Since the schemes involved are complex and require long-term development, the pilot projects will be implemented in three stages over a five-year period. A multidisciplinary approach that addresses issues from a biophysical, technical, socio-economic and cultural standpoint will be used. The participating countries are Bahrain, Jordan, Lebanon, Kuwait, Oman, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Syria, United Arab Emirates and Yemen. The sub-projects will target: Mountainous areas: improved management of available water sources; rehabilitating and conserving natural vegetative cover; introduction of various water and soil conservation technologies; Rangeland improvement: establishing guidelines for better range management based on grazing capacity; implementing micro- and macro water harvesting techniques, replanting native vegetation; Coping with salinity: reclaiming salt affected soils; introducing salt tolerant plant species, developing guidelines for irrigating with treated wastewater, drainage and brackish water.

Deforestation and overgrazing are causing soil depletion, erosion and desertification throughout Western Asia.

Yemen

Sector: Health
Purpose: Primary health care improvement
Amount: $200,000
Approved: August 28, 2001
Total cost: $773,000
Co-financier: The World Bank's Social Fund for Development
Implementing agencies: International Cooperation for Development (ICD), Yemen Ministry of Public Health
Grant administrator: OPEC Fund

This grant will help finance a multi-faceted scheme sponsored by the ICD, a UK-based, charitable institution, which has identified six districts in Yemen as having exceptionally unfavorable health profiles, especially among women and children: Al Jabin, Kussmah and bilaad Al Ta'am within the Sana'a governate and Beit Al Faquih, Mansorriyah and Sukhan in the Hodeidah governate. Lying adjacent to one another, these districts share a number of problems such as an underdeveloped health care infrastructure, shortage of medical staff and high incidence of poverty-related illnesses. This initiative will provide support at a district level towards implementing new organizational and policy-making procedures as well as devising strategies to control main endemic diseases. Development workers will act as on-the-job trainers to health care employees, and special midwifery courses will be provided to birth attendants and nurses, with a distinct emphasis placed on hiring additional female health care staff. Recommendations will be made relating to water and sanitation issues, and core health problems such as diarrhoea and childhood malnutrition will be addressed through the distribution of oral re-hydration salts and high-protein cereal mix, while the incidence of malaria will be curbed through the provision of mosquito nets. The project is expected to benefit some 600,000 people, of whom 120,000 are women of child-bearing age and 85,000 children under five.