German bank backs AIDS programs

JAKARTA: The German Development Bank has decided to provide a 4.1 million euro (US$4.7 million) grant for family planning and HIV/AIDS prevention programs in Indonesia.

The grant will be used to support a social marketing program managed by a non-governmental organization, as well as providing family planning services and HIV prevention workshops for nearly two million couples over the next 12 months, focusing on low- income and affected communities displaying high-risk behavior.

The grant, which the government and the German Development Bank (the Kfw Group) signed on Wednesday, was a response to the dramatic increase in HIV infection cases in the country.

Indonesia is estimated to have around 120,000 cases nationwide.

The new commitment raised Germany's development assistance for family planning and HIV prevention to almost 15 million euro over the last three years. -- JP