CobbSUE COBB, the United States Ambassador to Jamaica, has launched a fund to help fight HIV/AIDS here and prevent discrimination against persons living with the disease.
The Ambassador's Fund will provide six-month grants of between US$200 and US$2,000 to support community-based initiatives which promote the United Nations AIDS theme this year: "Live and Let Live". The projects could be new initiatives or programmes already underway and must encourage communities to co-operate in fighting the epidemic and reducing the associated stigma and discrimination.
It will complement Jamaica's current National HIV/STI Prevention and Control Programme by helping formal non-profit, non-political community-based groups and non-governmental organisations to increase community awareness, lobby for action at the local and national levels to fight the disease, and to reduce the stigma and discrimination associated with persons living with HIV/AIDS.
The Ambassador's Fund is being administered by the US Embassy's Office of Public Affairs, New Kingston, and is funded by the US Government through Ambassador Cobb. Organisations seeking to apply may collect application forms from the embassy or from its Web site at http://usembassy.state. gov/kingston. The deadline for applications is April 14, 2003.
