UB, EC sign grant contract

CHANDAPIWA BAPUTAKI
Staff Writer | Thursday August 9, 2007 00:00

 

The overall objective of the project is to strengthen the capacity of institutions of higher learning in the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) regions to intervene effectively in national and regional issues of health and development. Its immediate objective is to support universities in the ACP regions in enhancing and accelerating their capacity to contribute to the HIV/AIDS response of their countries and regions.

The EC has committed P42 million as its contribution to the financing of the projects while, as a cost-sharing arrangement, the six participating institutions are collectively to contribute 1.44 million euros.

Speaking at the signing ceremony at the UB council chamber in Gaborone yesterday, Malin explained that the contract would be an instrument that would enable the implementation of the Health and Development Innovative Consortium (HDIC) project. He stated that the European Union (EU) uses the full range of instruments at its disposal to counter HIV/AIDS.

The EU, through the EC has supported the SADC HIV/AIDS project since 2000, which has strengthened the regional response - supporting the Maseru declaration which gives the political basis for the response, more coherent policies, the production guidelines emanating from best regional practice. 'In Botswana, EC's main focus of their development cooperation is to education and training, a focus on HIV/ AIDS prevention with young people is an important part of this support,' Malin said.

The six ACP universities that are participating in the HDIC network are the UB in the Southern Africa region, Makerere University in Uganda (East Africa), University of Kinshasha in the Democratic Republic of Congo (Central Africa), Cheik Anta Diop University, Senegal (West Africa), University of West Indies (Caribbean), and the University of South Pacific.

The network will have as its highest policy and decision-making body a steering committee chaired by UB Vice Chancellor Professor Bojosi Otlhogile.

According to the vice chancellor, the process leading to the signing of this grant contract was initially led by the University of Kwazulu-Natal in 2002 but has been under the leadership of the UB since August 2003.