The Government of Lesotho with the Global Fund signed a grant agreement of about M84 million to fight HIV and AIDS in the country.

Dr Timothy Thahane signed on behalf of the government, while Mrs. Tatjana Peterson, the Fund Portfolio Manager for Lesotho signed on behalf of Global Fund at the occasion held at the Ministry of Finance Boardroom on Thursday.
According to the agreement, the grant is for first two-years with the potential to expand to about M150 million for the next three years if the money will have been used properly in the first two years.

In his speech, Dr Thahane thanked Global Fund, saying the grant will finance the prevention of HIV and contribute to mitigating the impact of AIDS among Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC) in Lesotho.

He said that the grant will not only assist Lesotho in the prevention of HIV and AIDS, but also in the administration of medical treatment of the disease in children, adding that children are the future generation of the country hence the need to protect them against the pandemic.

'If we do not keep those children who are infected by HIV, there will be no Lesotho,' he said adding that the country has to work hard in the prevention and treatment of HIV amongst children.

Dr Thahane further stated that with the Baylor College of Medicine, which deals with infected children, the country has made great strides in ensuring that infected children live healthy longer lives.

He noted that the Lesotho Government has decided to expand children's clinics that include satellite clinics.

Mrs. Peterson on the other hand said the grant is a symbol of appreciation to Lesotho for its efforts in the fight against HIV and AIDS. She added that this is not the first time for Global Fund to assist Lesotho as it started assisting the country, since 2003 in different sectors.

She said this time they have decided to assist children, expressing hope that the assistance would improve the country's children's lives for the better.

She expressed hope that success and timely implementation of the projects under the grant will greatly benefit the children.

The agreement also indicates that the grant is intended to complement the current level of support by reaching additional children as well as addressing national priorities as articulated in the national plan for orphans and vulnerable children in Lesotho for the period 2006-2010.

In addition a significant funding will be directed to the expansion of Prevention of Mother To Child Transmission (PMTCT) thereby increasing the number of facilities that are able to offer PMTCT services.

Furthermore, the funding is said to support youth education, vocational training and assist children with disabilities as well as supporting the child help line programme.

The funding is also a complementary to the EU/UNICEF funded programmes that aims to improve the lives of additional 60, 000 vulnerable children in the country.

Source: LENA 12/06/2008