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Malawi has
one of the highest HIV prevalence rates in the world, straining the
impoverished country's healthcare system and economy ©Marco Longari (AFP)
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Malawi President Peter
Mutharika said Thursday the country had received a grant of US$332 million (€292
million) to fight AIDS and other diseases, bringing much-needed support
to a nation wrestling with public health problems. Malawi has one of the
highest HIV prevalence rates in the world, straining the impoverished country's
healthcare system and economy.
Mutharika
accepted the grant from international aid organization The Global Fund in
Lilongwe, Malawi's administrative capital.
AFP report continues:
"This
is the largest allocation to any country in the world and we are grateful for
this," Mutharika said in a statement after receiving the grant.
The
president said the bulk of the money would be used to procure anti-retroviral
drugs while the rest would go toward combating malaria and tuberculosis.
The
grant would enable Malawi to provide HIV treatment for 745,000 patients by the
end of 2017, The Global Fund said in a statement.
The
money came from donors including the United States, the European Union and the
United Nations.
While
Malawi has made significant gains in combatting AIDS, it still registers
hundreds of new HIV infections every week.
Malawi has trimmed the
national HIV prevalence rate from over 12 percent in 2004 to 10 percent in
2014.
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