U.S. Approves $350M Aid Package To Help Zambia Fight HIV/AIDS, Fund Development

The United States on Wednesday announced that it has approved a seven-year, $350 million package to help Zambia fight HIV/AIDS and fund development projects, Reuters reports (Reuters, 11/5). U.S. Ambassador Martin Brennan said that the money will help Zambia's efforts in disease prevention -- particularly for HIV/AIDS -- poverty reduction, education, democracy and environmental protection, according to Xinhua News Agency (Xinhua News Agency, 11/5). "That money will go to HIV/AIDS (programs), to manage education, governance programs and managing people's lives," Brennan said at a USAID Global Development Alliance public-private partnership workshop. The United States on Monday announced that it would write off $34 million of the estimated $500 million debt Zambia owes to the United States. Zambian Ministry of Finance Permanent Secretary Richard Chizyuka on Wednesday said that Zambia has agreed to a strategic development plan with the United States, which is one of the country's "major" donors (Reuters, 11/5). Chizyuka "welcomed" the initiative by USAID to promote public-private partnerships for development, adding that "collective resolve" is needed to tackle development problems, according to Xinhua News Agency (Xinhua News Agency, 11/5).