SECURE THE FUTURE™ To Co-Fund Bambisanani Project With R1,7 Million Grant

Co-Partners Gold Fields Community Trust and USAID Through the EQUITY Project
to Contribute Balance of R300 000

JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA (January 15, 2001) -- The SECURE THE FUTURE™ Foundation Community Outreach and Education Fund, together with Gold Fields Community Trust and USAID through the EQUITY Project, today announced it is co-funding the Bambisanani Project, in the form of a R1,7 million grant.

The aim of the Bambisanani Project -- started in April 2000 in the Eastern Cape Region E area comprising the districts of Umzimkulu, Bizana and Lusikisiki -- is to assist these communities to respond to the emerging HIV/AIDS-related needs for care and support.

Announcing the funding at the official launch of the Bambisanani Project today, Phangisile Mtshali, Community Outreach and Education Director, SECURE THE FUTURE said that, it was hoped, the funding would make a significant difference in the battle against the AIDS pandemic in the region.

"The communities in Region E are desperate for assistance in the fight against poverty and HIV/AIDS particularly as the number of women who have tested HIV positive has jumped from 49 percent in the August-December 1997 period to 56 percent in October 1999, while there is only one doctor for 16 000 people," Mtshali said. "At the end of 1999, according to an antenatal survey conducted by the National Department of Health, Region E showed a 22 percent HIV prevalence, a marked increased from 1997’s figure of 12.2 percent."

Mtshali added that SECURE THE FUTURE was pleased to be co-funding the Bambisanani Project as it fitted in well with SECURE THE FUTURE’s vision of assisting women and children infected and affected with HIV/AIDS.

The Bambisanani Project consists of five elements, namely:

• Community Capacity Building. In order to create a suitable environment for home-based care and support for children in distress, capacity-building meetings and workshops are planned.

• Home-Based Care. Thirty care supporters will be identified per year according to their previous experience as community health workers and their personal qualities.

• Support Groups. A “drop-in centre” (visitor’s centre) -- at which support groups will be run -- will be established in each of the three areas, linked to a hospital, church or local government office.

• Income generating activities such as building, food-related, farming and other micro-enterprises will be conducted at each of the drop-in centres.

• Care and Support for Children in Distress. These will consist of access to Department of Health and Welfare programmes such as feeding schemes; the drop-in centres; lay youth support counsellors; peer educators and the home-based care programme.

SECURE THE FUTURE is pleased to be part of this initiative in empowering our communities with the necessary skills to deal with the impact of HIV/AIDS. We believe that this partnership will make a meaningful contribution in improving the quality of life of the communities of Umzimkulu, Bizana and Lusikisiki with regards to the effects of HIV/AIDS," concluded Mtshali.

SECURE THE FUTURE is the US$100-million commitment by Bristol-Myers Squibb Company to assist women and children infected and affected with HIV/AIDS in Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa and Swaziland. The programme provides grants for medical research and community outreach and education focusing on the psychosocial aspects of HIV/AIDS. SECURE THE FUTURE also encourages and funds capacity-building educational programmes in medicine, health care and public health.

Since SECURE THE FUTURE was introduced in May 1999, 52 grants totalling US $46,4m (R324,8m) have been awarded in the five countries.

Visit Bristol-Myers Squibb at www.bms.com

For more information, contact: Viccy Baker, 082 856 0242