The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies announced today during the Eastern Africa Partnership Meeting in Entebbe, Uganda, that it is launching an appeal for 71.6 million Swiss francs (US$ 65 million, € 45 million) to support Red Cross & Red Crescent Societies in Eastern Africa in fighting HIV over the next three years. The programme aims to reach 17 million people with information on prevention over the three years, provide care and support to nearly 30,000 people living with HIV and 130,000 orphans and vulnerable children.

"With over five million people living with HIV, including more than 500,000 children, Eastern Africa is the one of the worst affected areas," says Dr Asha Mohammed, Head of the International Federation's Eastern Africa Zone office in Nairobi. "In addition, there are more than four million children orphaned by AIDS living in the region. With adult prevalence rates now reaching as high as nearly 7%, there is an urgent need to take the Red Cross work to a new level," she adds. The new integrated, comprehensive and long-term HIV strategy supported by the appeal focuses on prevention for vulnerable groups and support for people living with HIV. It aims to strengthen home-based care programmes built up over the last decade using the network of community-based Red Cross/Red Crescent volunteers in Eastern Africa who provide support services to the chronically ill and family members. It also targets the growing number of orphans who have lost one or both parents due to AIDS.

"The availability of anti-retroviral therapy will change the shape of home-based care programmes from helping people to die to positive living," explains Dr Tom Ogwal, Health & Care coordinator for the International Federation in Nairobi. "Red Cross and Red Crescent volunteers have been working door to door to protect human dignity in their own community. We must now scale up and support these volunteers properly to make sure the most vulnerable have access to care, prevention and support," he adds.

Other activities covered in the appeal include a considerable scale-up prevention initiatives aimed at the general population, as well as high-risk groups (such as sex workers, truck drivers and out-of-school youth), more involvement in anti stigma campaigns to raise public awareness about HIV, strengthening the capacities of National Societies and developing operational partnerships, including with the networks of people living with HIV, UN agencies and other partners.

"East Africa has also been severely affected by conflicts and disasters," says Dr Mukesh Kapila, the International Federation's Special Representative for HIV. "The growing number of displaced people and the high level of gender-based violence in the region makes it all the more necessary to increase our prevention and awareness efforts - in the face of an increasingly feminized epidemic", he adds. A total of nine countries in the region are covered by the appeal: Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Madagascar, Sudan, Rwanda and Somalia.

For further information, to set up interviews in Entebbe, please contact: In Entebbe, Uganda Omar Valdimarsson, Eastern Africa Communications Manager, Tel: 254 733632946 In Geneva Duty phone Tel: + 41 79 416 38 81