54 grant cheques presented at Côte d’Ivoire launch
10 November 2005
Cheques totalling $958,232 were presented to 38 NGOs and associations at the official launch of the Alliance’s Côte d’Ivoire programme held in Abidjan on 21 October.
The 54 grants will fund work responding to the HIV/AIDS crisis in 13 out of 19 geographical regions in Côte d’Ivoire. They will support projects for orphans and vulnerable children and highly vulnerable populations, as well as care and support, voluntary counselling and testing, and abstinence and behaviour change.
Alain Manouan, Alliance senior programme officer responsible for management of the Côte d’Ivoire programme, and country director Dr. Toussaint Sibailly, presented the Alliance’s programme and current activities at the launch. Speeches were also given by the US Ambassador Haubrey Hooks, and the Côte d’Ivoire ministers for AIDS; solidarity, social security and the disabled; and health and population.
The central importance of working in partnership was a key theme, and one which laid the foundation for the entire Côte d’Ivoire programme. Speeches also underlined the necessity of involving civil society effectively in the national response to HIV and AIDS, and stressed the important role that communities must play.
Various partners involved in the response to HIV/AIDS in Côte d’Ivoire participated in the launch, including United Nations agencies, networks of people living with HIV/AIDS, international and national non-governmental organisations, civil society organisations, public sector representatives, local government, and USAID.
The launch ceremony was sponsored by Mr Haubrey Hooks, US Ambassador in Côte d’Ivoire.
