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Brazil
Microenterprise Development |
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What is the need?
HIV/AIDS has become the second most common cause of death among young men and women in Brazil. With 258,000 cases, Brazil has the largest number of people infected with HIV/AIDS in Latin America. Every day, 27 people die from the disease, while another 58 begin treatment.
According to the World Health Organization, the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Brazil is now primarily affecting young women and children—especially those who are poor and uneducated. Without basic resources such as sustainable income, health care, and education, these individuals are becoming increasingly vulnerable to HIV/AIDS. Women bear the added responsibility of caring for those infected with the disease.
What is the solution?
“AIDS—Getting back to Life” is an initiative that works through existing microfinance institutions (MFIs) to reduce the impact and transmission of HIV/AIDS among the most vulnerable people of Brazil—the poor.
These World Vision-owned MFIs grant loans to the enterprising poor—68 percent of whom are women—enabling them to start businesses, purchase supplies and equipment, expand operations, market goods or services, and hire additional staff. Extra income allows them to provide their families with nutritious food, improved living conditions, health care, and education. The benefits even spread to the community. In addition to granting loans, “AIDS—Getting Back to Life” offers a variety of programs aimed at fighting HIV/AIDS and transforming lives:
- Business counseling services and job training for poor entrepreneurs
- Health education programs with an emphasis on sexual education, women’s reproductive health, and HIV/AIDS prevention and awareness
- Empowerment of women to reduce their poverty levels and risk of HIV/AIDS
- Support for individuals infected with HIV/AIDS and vulnerable children
Project Objectives
- Promote a prevention and education to prevent AIDS campaign to 100,000 small entrepreneurs, teenagers, and family members over a three-year period
- Distribute 2,000 business loans over three years to enterprising, poor individuals—primarily individuals infected with HIV/AIDS and women who have a high repayment rate of 96 percent
- Educate 20,000 entrepreneurs about their rights to access public health services and support centers for AIDS victims
- Offer vital job training and enhanced business skills to loan recipients, especially to women and those affected by HIV/AIDS
- Provide therapeutic support for families who have lost a member to HIV/AIDS
- Train individuals to teach others about HIV/AIDS prevention and education
- Provide proper documentation of activities undertaken
Project Duration
Three years
2005 Funding Needed
$169,168*
*Can be funded partially or in full. |
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