United States Pledges 400 Mln Dollars To Mozambique To Fight AIDS

United States pledges 400 mln dollars to Mozambique to fight AIDS

The U.S. government, through its embassy in Maputo, pledged to disburse 400 million U.S. dollars to help Mozambique fight HIV/AIDS, U.S. ambassador to Mozambique Dean Pittman announced

MAPUTO, Sept 13 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 13th Sep, 2017 ) : The U.S. government, through its embassy in Maputo, pledged to disburse 400 million U.S. Dollars to help Mozambique fight HIV/AIDS, U.S.

ambassador to Mozambique Dean Pittman announced. "I am honored to announce that the U.S. government will invest 400 million U.S. dollars to fight HIV/AIDS as part of the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and will also expand efforts to guarantee that all pregnant women and those breastfeeding are aware of their health status," said Pittman.

The amount will also help women infected with HIV/AIDS to initiate vertical treatment to increase the number of babies born HIV free.

Mozambique Health Ministry classifies the support as an opportunity to fight AIDS after the latest health report revealed that there was an increase of the disease from 11.5 percent in 2009 to 13.2 percent in 2015.

Most of the money is expected to be invested in Zambezia province where 400,000 people are living with the virus. The U.S. injects an amount of around 400 million U.S. dollars in Mozambique annually and the total aid it has provided to Mozambique since 1984 is estimated at more than 6 billion U.S.

dollars, covering sectors such as health, education, agriculture, democracy and governance.