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Project
offering life to PLWHA
in country's urban areas
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ADDIS
ABEBA(August 11,2008)
- Over 60 thousand vulnerable adolescents, orphans and women
living with HIV/AIDS in six cities of the country improved their nutritional
status and increased their income level through an urban gardens project.
Citizens from the cities of Addis Ababa, Dessie, Gonder, Bahir Dar,
Adama, and Hawassa, were the beneficiaries of the project, supported
by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)'s PEPFAR
Urban Agriculture Program.
Implemented through Development Alternative Inc (DAI) of the programme,
the urban gardening project aimed to support the most vulnerable part
of these societies living in major cities of the country.
Although many people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) in Ethiopia have
access to life-sustaining anti-retroviral treatments (ART), the majority
lack the food and nutrition essential to get the optimal advantages
of the medications, officials from DAI said.
USAID said the program, which began four years ago, has helped over
15,000 women and children generate income and food from their garden
plot, remain in school, and adhere to AIDS treatment.
Women and children receive not only a plot of land from the municipal
bureaus of their respective cities to create a vegetable gardening,
according to the agency "but also training on drip irrigation
management, HIV/AIDS education and, most importantly, a renewed sense
of purpose and hope"
An estimated 1 million people currently live with the virus, of which
75,000 are pregnant women, 14,000 are HIV positive births and about
880,000 children are orphans due to AIDS.
The agency said the experience is contributing a lot in reducing the
stigma and discrimination by sending a positive message that HIV positive
individuals can learn new skills, be productive, and support their
families.
In a workshop highlighting PEPFAR Urban Agriculture Program achievements
on Friday, State Minister of Health Dr. Kebede Worku said the role
played by all stakeholders, including USAID and DAI, should be appreciated.
"The urban gardening project that was implemented in many parts
of Ethiopia through Development Alternative Inc (DAI) is one of the
excellent examples of partnership against HIV/AIDS," the Minster
said.
According to the minister, the benefit of the project was not only
for the beneficiaries to feed their families but also the surplus
produce of vegetables sold to the surrounding communities to generate
income to the needy families was contributing a lot for the society
in general.
"When families have income, they can feed and send their children
to school," the minister said adding that they become "once
again the productive member of the society."
The USAID Urban Agriculture Program is funded through the U.S. President's
Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the largest international
health initiative in history dedicated to a single disease.
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