We wanted to share some good news regarding our partner organization in South Africa: the Keiskamma Trust has received news that it, along with several other community organizations, will be granted multi-year funding for its work in HIV/AIDS prevention. The umbrella organization implementing the funding is NACOSA (the Networking AIDS Community of Southern Africa) who are supported by the Global Fund and others (see nacosa.org.za for more info).

The focus of the work that is being funded is the prevention of HIV transmission to the most vulnerable group in South Africa at this time, which is young women aged 15 to 24. Because of structural and societal injustices this group of women is more than 8 times more likely to become infected, with 2,400 adolescent girls and young women being infected every week.

85% of people living with HIV/AIDS in South Africa (7 million in SA total) are in the Eastern Cape province, where the Keiskamma Trust has been spearheading the fight against the pandemic for over 15 years. This new funding will enable the Trust to renew its efforts by mobilizing their community health workers and knowledgeable staff, as well as taking on new staff with specialized skills.

We congratulate the Keiskamma Trust for their success at receiving this grant for their important work, and we look forward to following their progress!