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Malawi - Reducing HIV/AIDS through Credit with Education in Karonga, Chitipa and Mzuzu
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What is the need?
The HIV/AIDS prevalence rate in Malawi is estimated at 17 percent. Forty-six percent of the infected population is of a productive age between 15 and 24 years, and 60 percent of this group are women. Areas with migration and cross-border trade centers near the Malawi-Tanzania border have been particularly vulnerable. A lack of knowledge about the causes of HIV/AIDS worsens the situation.
Meanwhile, a 2000 GEMINI survey revealed that the supply of financial services in rural areas fall far short of demand. The survey showed that only 15 percent of small-to-medium size enterprises had received some form of credit. The economically active poor are viewed as an excessive credit risk by traditional lending sources, preventing the ability to grow businesses to help people escape poverty. Women are particularly at-risk of relying on the sex trade to support themselves and their families, further increasing their risk of contracting HIV/AIDS.
What is the solution?
In October 2000 in Malawi, World Vision registered Finance Trust for the Self-Employed (FITSE) as a microfinance institution serving poor clients in the districts of Karonga, Chitipa and Mzuzu. FITSE aims to improve the living standards of poor women and their families through improved HIV/AIDS status, food security and income levels. In addition to making small loans, FITSE’s provides weekly training sessions on health, HIV/AIDS, and business management. A June 2003 evaluation of FITSE by World Vision microfinance and HIV/AIDS experts from outside Malawi reported the following: “Tangible results…Many clients had extensive knowledge of HIV/AIDS prevention and care… Clients are familiar with orphan care groups, home-based care, the need to visit and encourage them.”
Project Objectives
The goal of the Credit and Education program is to improve the HIV/AIDS and health status of the poor in the northern region of Malawi in an integrated manner than can provide a model for others. The program seeks to:
- Ensure that at least 60 percent of women clients engage in safe sex practices by the end of 2005
- Increase business income of at least 75 percent of the women borrowers
- Increase knowledge level on HIV/AIDS of at least 75 percent of the women borrowers
Credit and Education combines microfinance with low-cost education to assist clients to build their productive assets, accumulate savings, improve self-confidence, and improve basic business and family survival skills, using the following interventions:
- Capacity Building (training to manage credit and savings)
- Credit
- HIV/AIDS and Business Training
- Savings Mobilization
Program Duration
Six years
2005 Funding Need
$209,067*
*Can be funded partially or in full. |
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