Sunday, April 01, 2007

World Bank to Grant $30 Million to Ethiopia

Sources:
Ethiopia Signs 30-Million-Dollar Grant Agreement with World Bank
Ethiopia, World Bank Sign $30 Million Grant Agreement

This past Friday, Ethiopia and the World Bank signed a grant agreement in the amount of $30 million. The funds will be used to finance the second multi-sectoral HIV/AIDS project (MSAP II) in Ethiopia over the next three years. Funds will be dispersed in three phases. The first phase will be used to support district and civil society initiatives.

The agreement calls requires Ethiopian officials to use the funds to increase access to preventive services for groups at the most risk of contracting HIV/AIDS, especially children and women between the ages of fifteen and twenty-four.

Ethiopia has been hit hard by the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Because of the virus, life expectancy in Ethiopia is falling and is expected to fall from 59 years of age to 50 years of age by 2010.

Questions: What types of programs should the Ethiopian officials implement in order to curb this pandemic? How can the World Bank ensure that Ethiopia will use the funds for the intended purposes?

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