Moneylenders tackle AIDS head on

The threat of AIDS to small business in Kenya has prompted microlenders to seek practical ways of tackling the pandemic, including taking out insurance for HIV-positive clients. Beatrice Sabana, chief executive of the Association of Micro-finance Institutions in Kenya (AMFI), told IPS: "If you have financed a business and the owners cannot run it because they are too ill, the business will close down. So we are trying to negotiate micro-insurance to protect these businesses and meet the medical expenses of the owners." AMFI is currently targeting the families of infected clients with awareness campaigns, to ensure the continuity of enterprises. An estimated 16 percent of the country's 30 million people resort to moneylending institutions, IPS reported.