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Anti-Aids battle gets cash boost
2006-07-16 10:14:11
By Emmanuel Chacha, Mwanza
The Tanzania Commissioner for AIDS (TACAIDS) through its Kagera and Mwanza regions’ agency TANESA, has provided 309.8m/- to Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) in the two regions to reinforce the war against the AIDS at the grassroots level.
Speaking during a ceremony to hand over the cheque for Mwanza Region’s CSOs, the Director for TANESA, Prof. Gabriel Mwaluko, said that the fund had been provided under the implementation of the Community AIDS Response Fund (CARF) aimed at facilitating community-based societies in the war against the killer disease.
He added that during the first phase of the programme, a total of 96 CSOs in Kagera Region and 88 CSOs in Mwanza Region would be supported and that Kagera would get 131, 487, 790/- and Mwanza would receive 178,333,307/-.
He named the districts in Mwanza Region (the amount in brackets) as Magu (25m/-), Kwimba (22m/-), Ukerewe (11.9m/-), Sengerema (24.5m/), Geita (19.9m/-), Nyamagana (25.5m/), Ilemela (19.4m/-) and Missungwi (29.9m/-).
Beneficiaries in Kagera Region are Biharamulo (26m/-), Bukoba Municipal (14.8m/-) Bukoba Rural (12.3m/-), Chato (19.4m/), Karagwe (13.3m/-), Missenye (12.9m/-), Muleba (13.3m/-) and Ngara (18.4m/-).
Speaking during the occasion, the acting Mwanza Regional Commissioner, Peter Toima, said that statistics showed that Mwanza Region was the second in the country in HIV prevalence with the rate of 7.8 percent ahead of the national rate, which is 7 per cent.
’’These statistics show that our efforts to fight the epidemic in the region have not borne tangible fruits although most of our people are aware of this pandemic. The prevalence rate is raising and some people have not yet changed their sexual attitudes, ’’ he said.
The acting RC cited reasons for the rise in HIV prevalence in the country as insufficient knowledge about it, ignorance, poverty, alcoholism, prostitution, and outdated taboos and customs.
He commended TACAIDS through TANESA for coming up with the grassroots-based approach under CARF programme.
However, he stressed that the funded groups should utilize the money judiciously.
The groups promised to use the money to bring about changes in the war against HIV/AIDS.
The first phase of CARF programme will last one year.
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