The U.S. Ambassador’s PEPFAR Small Grants Program, which supports small, innovative, community-driven projects in Malawi to stop the spread of HIV and mitigate the impacts of AIDs, today (March 29, 2018) issued grants to ten (10) Community Based Organizations (CBOs), Faith Based Organizations (FBOs), and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), working with grassroots communities from ten (10) districts across the country.

The projects are expected to:

1) ensure voices from youth born and living with HIV/AIDS are heard in helping fellow youth make informed choices on HIV prevention, treatment, and adherence;

2) implement targeted testing and adherence interventions which are supported through innovative approaches that reach adolescents (with a particular emphasis on male adolescents);

3) address cultural norms and laws that create barriers to equal access to health services for young people living with, and affected by HIV/AIDS; and

4) identify gaps in service provision to people living with HIV/AIDS, and  develop realistic solutions for improved service delivery to these individuals.

U.S. Ambassador to Malawi Virginia Palmer presided over the signing ceremony in Lilongwe on March 29 saying:  “through these projects, we can reach those most at risk (including adolescent girls, and young people living with HIV/AIDS), through targeted interventions and comprehensive care. As we march towards increasing the number of people tested and put on treatment, we need to find creative ways to make HIV services even more accessible so that we identify those not tested, and, if found positive,  not only put them on treatment, but ensure they remain on, and adhere to, such treatment. These projects enable the United States Government to continue to support the people – and government – of Malawi in its ‘Test and Treat’ policy to help reach the 90-90-90 targets and ultimately achieve an AIDS-free generation.”