2009 Press Releases

US Government Provides Multi-Million Dollar Investment in FET Colleges
October 20, 2009:  This is a three-year, $6.7 million program funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in partnership with the Government of South Africa and implemented by the American Council on Education (ACE).

IOM and USAID Officially Launch Ripfumelo HIV Prevention and Care Project at Migrant Health Seminar
August 13, 2009: The IOM/USAID Ripfumelo Project, a three-year program involving USAID-PEPFAR funding of more than South African Rand 35 million ($5.1 million*) means “believe” in xiTsonga.  It aims to provide sustainable HIV prevention and care services to farm workers by developing a network of stakeholders working specifically on HIV-related issues to reduce the high incidence and impact of AIDS on farm workers, their families and their communities.  Partnerships are encouraged among local, provincial, and national government agencies, as well as between public/private entities.

Links to further coverage:

• http://wap.hivatlas.org/blog/classifieds/12223-south-africa-new-programme-safeguard-farm-workers-aegis
• http://appablog.wordpress.com/2009/08/11/south-africa-farm-workers-to-benefit-from-new-hiv-prevention-and-care-project/
• http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/IRIN/3eefe73946c48896f9655f131704dbb9.htm
• http://medilinkz.org/news/news2.asp?NewsID=28457
• http://www.aegis.org/news/irin/2009/IR090816.html
• http://wap.hivatlas.org/blog/classifieds/12223-south-africa-new-programme-safeguard-farm-workers-aegis

African Diaspora Marketplace Program Receives 733 Business Plan Proposals for Economic Growth in African Communities
August 13, 2009: The inaugural African Diaspora Marketplace (ADM) closed its call for proposals and has exceeded expectations by collecting 733 business proposals.  The ADM is a business entrepreneurship program fostering economic development ideas from U.S.-based African diaspora to create plans for sustainable start-up and established businesses in 19 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa.  A collaboration between Western Union and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the ADM aims to leverage the know-how and commitment of diaspora communities to help address poverty and unemployment issues in the region.

Teens give Scrutinize a resounding thumbs-up
June 28, 2009:  It’s official – South African youth love to Scrutinize! The animated Scrutinize HIV prevention campaign has won a 2009 Khuza Award, voted for by children and young adults.

Speaking Book Launch Release
May 27, 2009:  The Ugu District Health Department and BroadReach Healthcare, supported by USAID and funded through the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), has developed a new and innovative education tool to help with HIV and AIDS education in communities. The speaking book, called ‘Knowledge and Hope about Your Health’ (Ulwazi nethemba ngempilo yakho) is best described as a speaking book with pictures and has been produced in Zulu. The speaking book contains core messages about HIV prevention, testing and treatment.

South African Schoolchildren Gain Clean Water and Sanitation
April 16, 2009:  More than 10,000 South African learners, teachers, and community members will gain access to clean, abundant water and sanitation through an international Water and Development Alliance (WADA) supported by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and The Coca-Cola Africa Foundation (TCCAF) and implemented by the Alliance to Save Energy, an international non-profit organization.

South African and American Government Partnership.  Strengthens Justice for South African Women
April 2, 2009:  The Women's Justice and Empowerment Initiative (WJEI) is supported and funded by the U.S. government to help advance South Africa’s (SA) response to gender-based violence.  The program improves the availability of comprehensive services for rape and sexual assault survivors

UWC HIV/AIDS Prevention receives R8-m USAID boost.  Minister of Education to speak at launch
March 3, 2009:  The University of the Western Cape (UWC) has reached a new milestone in their partnership with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), with funding from the American President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) to target HIV/AIDS prevention in Western Cape schools and at the university itself.

IOM and USAID Announce HIV Prevention and Care for Farm Workers
March 9, 2009:  The International Organization for Migration (IOM)’s Regional Office for Southern Africa and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) launched a new program March 9 to reduce HIV vulnerability of farm workers in South Africa’s Limpopo and Mpumalanga Provinces.

USAID Provides Malaria Assistance to Zimbabwe
February 11, 2009.  To help mitigate a malaria outbreak, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is supporting emergency indoor residual spraying to fill gaps in the country's traditionally strong malaria control program.

USAID Sends Additional Assistance for Zimbabwe Cholera Outbreak
January 30, 2009.  The US Agency for International Development is consigning nearly 440,000 bars of soap—valued at nearly $365,000—to the U.N. Children’s Fund, which will provide it to humanitarian organizations to distribute as part of hygiene education programs in areas most affected by the cholera outbreak.