UNICEF gets grant for AIDS orphans

The Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA) and the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) have signed a US $4.9 million grant agreement to assist Ethiopia's AIDS orphans. UNICEF was hoping to raise $11 million to implement the first phase of the country's National Plan of Action, which would cover at least 56,000 orphans and vulnerable children. In a statement UNICEF Resident Representative Bjorn Ljungqvist said, "Despite our modest initial goals, responses from donors towards the plan have been poor. The SIDA pledge is the first major one we have received since the plan was announced last December." Ljungqvist stressed the importance of working with young people, as they learned to modify their behaviour more easily than adults and could help break the silence on HIV/AIDS.