USAID awards grant to HIV youth programme in Ethiopia

The US Agency for International Development (USAID) has announced it has awarded a new grant to combat HIV/Aids in Ethiopia.

It has given $500,000 (£251,191) of funding to the YMCA of the US, to support its Aids Volunteerism and Community Engagement programme (Advance).

The grant aims to provide people in the "underserved communities" of Addis Ababa and Adama with increased access to HIV prevention education and medical services.

It is estimated that over 2.2 per cent of Ethiopia's population are HIV positive and the YMCA's Advance programme seeks to improve the lives of young adults between the ages of 10 and 29.

The YMCA will recruit and train Ethiopian youths to become "peers" in the community and spread information about HIV prevention and care.

USAID recently provided an additional $4 million to the UN Humanitarian Air Service to provide essential supplies to people in Sudan.