U2 France

By Musa Ndlangamandla

WORLD famous Irish rock star and U2 lead singer Bono has donated more than E35 million (US$5m) to the National Emergency Council on HIV and AIDS (NERCHA) through his philanthrophic initiative (Product) RED.

NERCHA Director Derek von Wissell yesterday told The Swazi Observer that the funds generated through (Product) Red were administered by the Global Fund, adding that Swaziland and Rwanda were chosen by the latter to be the first showcase countries to receive the financial assistance from the Bono-led initiative.

von Wissell explained that Swaziland was chosen as a ‘showcase country,’ by Global Fund, because of its strong track record within the Global Fund’s performance-based model of grant evaluation.

Strong

“This proven strong performance, together with Swaziland’s ambitious goals and proven track record of programmes, led (RED) to select Swaziland as one of its first recipient countries. Good management of resources and a good product also added to the country coming tops to become a ’showcase’ to benefit from the private sector economic initiative that throws the weight of the corporate world behind the fight against HIV and AIDS. We are grateful to all stakeholders who have partnered with us in the fight against HIV and AIDS,” von Wissell said.

The exciting news comes barely three days after revelations by The Swazi Observer that legendary sports club FC Barcelona has donated about E7 million towards causes seeking to protect the rights of orphaned and vulnerable children (OVC), through a historic alliance with UNICEF.

The team is expected in the country before June.

Meanwhile, von Wissell explained that (Product) RED was conceived as a mechanism to harness private sector marketing skills to raise funds and awareness by donating a portion of sales of specially branded products to the Global Fund to fight HIV and AIDS in Africa.

Income

“Income generated by (RED) products will support Global Fund-financed programmes that positively impact the lives of women and children affected by HIV and AIDS in Africa. Swaziland and Rwanda were chosen as the first countries receiving Global Fund grants that will benefit from income generated by (RED). While RED funds are not additional to the grants already approved by the Global Fund Board, (RED) income will replace resources earmarked for these grants in the Global Fund “pot”, freeing up these resources for other grant renewals or future funding rounds,” he said.

von Wissell added that the initiative brings together leading-edge businesses to create products under the Product (RED) brand and dedicate a percentage of their profits to the Global Fund.

“Giorgio Armani, Gap, Converse, American Express, Motorola, London’s Independent newspaper and Apple Computer are the companies currently committed to the initiative, each signing on for five years. By pledging to donate a percentage of profits from signature wrap-around sunglasses (Armani), red t-shirts (Gap), tekkies (Converse), and special-edition iPods (Apple), to name just a few, the companies are supporting programmes for women and children with HIV in Africa. The brand is the first of its kind and is a ground-breaking step towards long-term involvement by the private sector in supporting the Global Fund,” he said.

In a statement, NERCHA’s Elizabeth Skorochod said in Swaziland, (RED) money is supporting Global Fund-financed programs, which have:

l Reached more than 4,400 mothers with services to prevent mother-to-child-transmission of HIV

l Trained caretakers and doctors in the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV

l Equipped hospitals to provide services to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV

l Reached more than 140,000 people with voluntary counseling and testing for prevention of HIV

l Trained more than 70 counselors to teach prevention of HIV

l Set up more than 35 counseling and testing centers for prevention of HIV

l Established feeding schemes in 335 schools

l Built 154 community feeding centers

l Provided education support for more than 36,000 vulnerable children

l Provided anti-retroviral therapy for HIV and AIDS to almost 15,000 patients

l Trained more than 3,000 health workers to deliver home-based care for patients with HIV and AIDS

l All figures sourced from Global Fund PRODUCT (RED) website.

Global Fund work

in SD

IN October 2006, a team from the Global Fund came to Swaziland to visit programmes and projects benefiting from Global Fund moneys.

The two-person team visited child feeding sites and pre-schools, neighbourhood care points, gardens, Kagogo centres, income generating projects and an ART site.

“We were extremely excited to be in Swaziland to see first hand how Global Fund grants have been used to improve the lives of Swazis living with and impacted by HIV and AIDS,” said Adele Sulcas, from The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria during the working tour to the country.

“The work being done is impressive and we are hopeful efforts to combat HIV and AIDS will continue to be scaled up.”

The Swazi Observer learned that The Global Fund (Product) RED team has plans to continue site visits to the country to follow up on the work happening on the ground.

“The initiative has several celebrities who work around the world as its ambassadors. We expect that they will come to the country soon,” said Derek von Wissell, Director of NERCHA.

Why Swaziland?

Swaziland was chosen as a (RED) recipient country for several reasons. Because of the country’s high prevalence rate, there are a large number of women and children impacted by HIV and AIDS in Swaziland. As such, (RED) funding will be supporting programmes and projects to aid these women and children. This is a focus for (RED).

In addition, Swaziland is considered a ‘showcase country,’ by Global Fund, meaning the Nation has a strong track record within the Global Fund’s performance-based model of grant evaluation. This proven strong performance, together with Swaziland’s ambitious goals and proven track record of programmes, led (RED) to select Swaziland as one of its first recipient countries.

Also, as a showcase country, Swaziland’s programmes will be highlighted to the world as one of the Global Fund’s most successful grant programs. This will bring the world’s awareness to the ways in which the nation is positively impacting the lives of Swazis that have been affected by HIV and AIDS, validating the nation’s response to HIV and AIDS.

“Swaziland is extremely proud to have been selected as a (RED) country and to have been chosen as a success story by the Global Fund,” said Derek von Wissell, director of NERCHA. “It is an exceptional way to highlight the programs our nation has worked hard to implement to fight HIV and AIDS. It also shows the difference money can make in battling this disease.”