World Vision gets $240,000 to fight AIDS

World Vision in Angola has received $240,000 from its US office to help prevent transmission of HIV and reduce the impact of AIDS. The NGO will work with governmental and other organisations to mobilise resources and integrate efforts to combat AIDS at national and provincial levels. Programmes to combat HIV/AIDS will be integrated with existing activities around health, food security, post-war social reintegration and human rights. According to a recent survey by the UN Children's Fund, 32 percent of Angolans have never heard of HIV/AIDS, while only eight percent know how the virus is transmitted and how to protect themselves. Prevalence rates among women in antenatal clinics in the capital Luanda are 8.6 percent, and as high as 33 percent among commercial sex workers.