AWDF's participation in AIDS 2008 has been a hectic one. We held a press conference to launch our progress report on our HIV/AIDS fund. Our Executive Director was a moderator on a panel discussion on The Aids Care Economy and was also interviewed by ´Global Visions´, the daily newspaper for the conference and I did a radio interview for a community radio station. This was apart from some sessions and meetings AWDF had committed to attending. For the next week I shall continue to update you on some of the most inspirational, topical and critical information that came out of AIDS 2008. In the meantime I am detailing below our latest press relase on the press conference we held in Mexico:
The African Women’s Development Fund (AWDF) at the XVII International Aids Conference held a press conference on the 6th of August to showcase the work being done by African women’s organizations in combating the global HIV/AIDS pandemic and launched a progress report showcasing the achievements of AWDF’s HIV/AIDS fund. Speakers at the press conference included Bisi Adeleye-Fayemi, Executive Director of AWDF; Chantal Cuddumbey, Nelson Mandela Foundation; Nyaradzai Gumbonzvanda, Secretary General, World YWCA; Siphiwe Hlophe, Director, Swaziland Positive Living for Life; and Lucy Mensah, Executive Director, Women United against Aids in Ghana.
In November 2005, AWDF launched a dedicated HIV/AIDS fund to provide African women with the financial and technical resources needed to prevent, treat and provide access to all African women infected and affected by the HIV/AIDS pandemic. AWDF’s HIV/AIDS fund has disbursed over U$2,013,375 in grants to 107 African women’s organisations in 25 countries, provided grant-making and technical support for grassroots organisations, networks and support groups of women living with HIV/AIDS in several countries and invested in multi-year funding in order to scale up some of the initiatives of African women’s organisations working on HIV/AIDS.
The Executive Director of AWDF, Bisi Adeleye-Fayemi stated ‘African women are leading the fight against HIV/AIDS and need to be provided with the financial and technical resources to continue this vital work’. Speaking at the conference, the Secretary General of the World YWCA emphasized the importance of AWDF’s HIV/AIDS fund ‘as a fund for African women by African women who understand the complexity of issues affecting African women and HIV/AIDS’. Chantal Cuddumbey from the 46664 Project of the Nelson Mandela Foundation pointed out that the effects of HIV/AIDS on women and girls is ‘very close to the heart of Nelson Mandela’ which is why the Nelson Mandela Foundation considers AWDF as an essential partner in the fight against HIV/AIDS.
The voices of African women who are directly working on HIV/AIDS were heard loud and clear in testimonies by Siphiwe Hlophe from Swaziland Positive Living for Life, (SWAPOL); and Lucy Mensah, from Women United against Aids in Ghana, (WUAGG). With AWDF’s support SWAPOL has been able to pay care workers for the support they provide to terminally ill patients and WUAGG has been able to establish the first and only multi-resource centre for women living with HIV/AIDS in Ghana.
AWDF’s HIV/AIDS Fund has been supported by:Comic Relief (UK),Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA), HIVOS (The Netherlands), Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa (OSISA), The Nelson Mandela Foundation – 46664 Campaign (South Africa), The Sigrid Rausing Trust (UK), The Global Fund for Women, The Stephen Lewis Foundation (Canada) and UNAIDS
ENDS
The African Women’s Development Fund (AWDF) is a grant-making foundation which supports local, national and regional organisations in Africa working towards women’s empowerment. AWDF through institutional capacity building and programme development seeks to build a culture of learning and partnerships within the African women’s movement.
The vision of AWDF is for African women to live in a world in which there is social justice, equality and respect for women’s human rights. To this end, our mission is to mobilise financial resources to support local, national and regional initiatives led by women, which will lead to the achievement of this vision.
Press Enquiries
Nana Sekyiamah – Programme Officer (Fundraising & Communications)
Tel: + 233 21 780476/7
Tel in Mexico:+ 552 941 5522
Fax: +233 21 782502
Email: nana@awdf.org
Websites: www.awdf.org, www.13campaign.org
Nana Sekyiamah
Programme Officer
Fundraising & Communications
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