World Bank, Zambia Agree on $42 Million Loan to Fight HIV/AIDS

The World Bank and Zambia on Sunday announced that they have agreed to a $42 million loan to help in the fight against HIV/AIDS, which Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa has declared a "natural disaster," Reuters reports. The loan, which includes $6 million specifically for antiretroviral drugs, had been put on hold in December when World Bank officials were unable to meet with Zambian health and finance ministry representatives. "The HIV/AIDS situation in Zambia is not getting any better and it is imperative that all concerned increase their efforts in fighting the ailment," Laurence Clarke, the World Bank's country manager for Zambia, said. According to Clarke, part of the loan will be used "to strengthen AIDS awareness campaigns in all government ministries and departments and help launch campaigns at grassroots levels." The announcement of the loan came two weeks after Mwanawasa announced that he had applied for $19 million in funding from the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (Shacinda, Reuters, 4/28). The global fund awarded a grant of almost $20 million to the country last week (Global Fund proposal list, 4/25). UNAIDS estimates that one in five Zambian adults has HIV/AIDS (Reuters, 4/28).