2005 Press Releases

South African TV Special Takalani Sesame's Talk To Me Honored With Prestigious Japan Prize(125 KB)
November 2, 2005:  (New York, NY, and Cape Town, South Africa, November 2, 2005)—Takalani Sesame Presents: Talk to Me, the TV special based on the multi-media initiative aimed at conveying messages about talking to children about HIV and AIDS, was selected as the best program earlier this week in the Education Category, garnering itself the Governor of Tokyo Prize in the Japan Prize Contest. The Japan Prize honors media that contribute to the advancement of educational television around the world.

NBA Celebrities Urge Healthy Living in South Africa
October 7, 2005:  South Africans, like fans across the world, look up to American National Basketball Association (NBA) athletes in more ways than one.  More than 1000 young people flocked into Soweto’s Moletsane Sports Complex on September 9 to see NBA heroes in action, teaching basketball skills and challenging the audience to fight AIDS by living healthy lives.  Some NBA players also filmed TV commercials (public service announcements) with actors from a top weekly South African TV drama that portrays AIDS in the lives of daily characters showing the consequences of behavior and challenging audiences to take responsibility for their actions.

Under the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, USAID Announces Contract To Swiftly Deliver Lifesaving Medicines And Supplies To Developing Countries - Consortium of 15 Institutions to Implement Award
September 27, 2005:  WASHINGTON, DC. Today, the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, through the U.S. Agency for International Development, announced a contract to strengthen the lifeline of essential drugs and supplies for people living with or affected by HIV/AIDS and other infectious diseases in developing countries.  The winning team is called The Partnership for Supply Chain Management (the Partnership) and is a leading consortium of 15 separate institutions from the private sector, non-profit and faith-based community, and is well connected to existing delivery and purchasing systems in the developing world.

FACT SHEET:  Leadership Through Compassionate Action: A New “Partnership for Supply Chain Management" (284KB)
September 27, 2005:  Comprehensive HIV/AIDS programs that are sustained for the long-term require a continuous inflow of essential medicines and supplies. In most developing countries, limited health systems capacity is a major challenge to providing the appropriate health care many urgently need. In concert with in-country partners, the Bush Administration is leading the world in building the necessary infrastructure to fight the global pandemic of HIV/AIDS.  The President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, through its new Partnership for Supply Chain Management (the Partnership), will strengthen systems to deliver an uninterrupted supply of high-quality, lost-cost products that will flow through a transparent, accountable system.

New Investigative Journalism Training Program in South Africa
September 13, 2005:  South African journalists will sharpen their skills when a major initiative to promote  formal investigative journalism training begins at Rhodes and WITS Universities later this year.  The announcement was made today at the Highway Africa Journalism conference—the world’s biggest annual gathering of African journalists. 

SOUTH AFRICA LACKS WOMEN LEADERS IN HIGHER EDUCATION. Launch of Women in Higher Education Executive Leadership Programme
September 5, 2005:  South Africa’s disproportionate number of women in academic and executive leadership positions is set to change by the “Women in Higher Education Executive Leadership (WHEEL)” program launched in Cape Town on Monday, September 5.

USAID Announces Additional Food Assistance for Southern Africa
August 12, 2005:   The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) announced today it will provide an additional 73,500 metric tons of US Title II food commodities to southern Africa through the World Food Program (WFP).

U.S. Ambassador Visits North West Province’s “Female Farmer of the Year” (2004)
June 28, 2005:  U.S. Ambassador Jendayi E. Frazer and the Director of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) office in South Africa, Ms. Carleene Dei, visited "SR Vegetable Produce and Processing," a farm owned and managed by Mrs. Anna. Selebaleng Ratshikana.

U.S. Ambassador Tours North West Province
June 27, 2005:   U.S. Ambassador Jendayi E. Frazer traveled to the North West Province on June 27 and 28, for a series of official visits highlighting economic development, agriculture, tourism, and education.   The Ambassador was accompanied by Ms. Carleene Dei, Director of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) in South Africa; Ms. Gayleatha Brown, Counselor for Political Affairs; and other U.S. Mission officials.  The visits highlighted issues of mutual importance to the NW Province and the U.S., including some projects that are receiving U.S. funding support.

Tshwane Mayor, US and Finland Ambassadors Partner Youth Employment Drive (128KB)
June 15, 2005:  Tshwane Mayor, Father Smangaliso Mkhatshwa, was joined by the US Ambassador and Finnish Ambassador to honour Youth Day by launching a skills programme that creates jobs for unemployed tertiary education graduates. The City of Tshwane’s residents will benefit from the programme as the young South Africans learn and apply high-tech Information Technology and business expertise towards the municipality’s delivery of services.

Humanitarian Need and Funding for Africa
June 7, 2005:  President Bush announced today an additional estimated $674.4 million (Footnote 3) in supplemental and other immediate emergency funding for Africa this year.

New USAID South Africa Director Carleene Dei
May 6, 2005:  Carleene Dei is the new U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Mission Director to South Africa.  Ambassador Jendayi Frazer swore Ms. Dei in to the position on Friday, April 29.

Math, Science Teachers to Train in U.S.
April 18, 2005:  A group of 39 South African mathematics and science teachers departed from Johannesburg on April 15th to attend a 10 week training program at Prince George's Community College in the U.S., funded by the American people through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

USAID Supports Stronger Municipalities
April 11, 2005:  23 Municipalities in five South African provinces will soon benefit from a new US $4 million (approximately R 24 million*) program to improve municipal performance and increase revenue.  The program is funded by the people of the United States through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).  According to acting USAID Director, Denise Rollins, “the program we are launching tonight will encourage municipalities to form partnerships with their constituencies.  Officials will learn how to do their jobs well, earning greater respect and support from local people.”  

USAID ANNOUNCES MORE THAN $3 MILLION TO EXPAND ANTI-TUBERCULOSIS PROGRAMS
March 24, 2005:  Today, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) announced nearly $3.2 million in new assistance to the National Tuberculosis (TB) Programs in Mozambique, Namibia, Tanzania, and Zambia. In these countries, USAID will support the Directly Observed Treatment, Short-Course (DOTS) Strategy, which involves observing patients as they take the full course of TB medicine, increasing treatment adherence. All four countries are focus countries for the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief.

Fact Sheet:  USAID Assistance to South Africa (75KB)
February 22, 2005:  The USAID program in South Africa focuses on leveling the playing field for historically disadvantaged individuals and on addressing the greatest challenges to South Africa--unemployment, HIV/AIDS, and crime.