Prague, March 16 (CTK) – The Czech SIRIRI non-government organisation will spend over four million crowns in aid of the people who are tackling AIDS in the Central African Republic, SIRIRI spokeswoman Terezie Imlaufova told CTK on Thursday, adding that the project has been subsidised by the Foreign Ministry.
Apart from covering the costs of medicines and medical checkups, SIRIRI also wants to provide small loans for the AIDS patients so that they can start earning money on their own.
“The goal is to secure medical checkups of 1,400 people with HIV/AIDS symptoms, medicines to protect 1,000 patients against opportunistic infections, the treatment of nutrition disorders, and prenatal as well as perinatal care for 600 pregnant women who have HIV/AIDS,” Imlaufova said.
“The project also includes the establishment of a fund to grant mini loans to the ill,” she said, adding that the loans should boost small trade activities such as needlework, telephone services and vegetable growing and sale.
SIRIRI has been operating in the Central African Republic for ten years.
“Our people do not stay there. We cooperate with the [St Michel] Centre headed by an Italian doctor, whose staff are Central African medical workers,” Imlaufova said.
The centre is one of the two facilities providing care for HIV and AIDS patients, of whom there are 120,000 in the 4,6-million country, according to U.N. data.
The Czech Foreign Ministry has provided a 3.9-million-crown subsidy to the project, which will cover 90 percent of its costs. The remaining 400,000 crowns will be added by SIRIRI.
On the ministry’s part, this is a fourth such subsidy in a row, but this time it is twice as high as in 2016, Imlaufova said.
