The President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief(PEPFAR) and the US Agency for International Development (USAID) has awarded a $4.7 million grant to Christian Children's Fund (CCF) in partnership with CCF Canada, University Research Co. LLC (URC) and local partners for Strengthening Community Safety Nets in Ethiopia.

Richmond, Va. - Today 11 million children in the developing world die each year before they reach the age of five. Two-thirds of those deaths are caused by health problems that are preventable or treatable. In Ethiopia alone, the number of orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) who have lost one or both parents to HIV/AIDS is on the rise.

The award is part of the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) program launched in 2003 - the largest commitment in history by any nation to combat a single disease.

Christian Children's Fund President and CEO Anne Goddard announced that CCF and CCF Canada will match the USAID $4.7 million grant with more than $693,000 in private contributions, including support from Irish Aid, bringing the total to $5.4 million.

"The Strengthening Community Safety Nets project in Ethiopia is unique because we will use a fully integrated program approach to meet the needs of orphans and vulnerable children seriously impacted by HIV/AIDS," said Goddard. "It will encompass early childhood development, psychosocial interventions, education, health and nutrition, child protection and livelihood initiatives."

More than 650,000 children affected by HIV and AIDS, from one to 17 years of age, currently live in Ethiopia according to a recent UNAIDS report. Responding to this staggering number, CCF is working with its partners and the Ethiopian government to promote healthy child development for 50,000 OVC. The groups will assist 8,500 primary and secondary caregivers in Addis Ababa and Oromia through comprehensive, family centered care and support.

Initiatives will build community capacities to become active agents in their own well-being and survival. Volunteer caregivers will be trained to work with the communities. Youth mentors will provide support and life skills education to vulnerable children. In addition, community paralegals will promote child protection and legal counseling services.

"Research on children and AIDS demonstrates that early childhood development services can leverage significant improvements in the lives of orphans and vulnerable children," said William Fleming, HIV/AIDS Program Specialist for CCF. "These services provide the children with a safe, structured environment, the emotional support and supervision of adults and the opportunity to socialize with other children."

Focusing on early childhood (0-6), an age often underserved, will ensure that infants and young children receive critical, high impact child development services. Community-based Early Childhood Development programs will provide the entry point for addressing the holistic development of young children, including health and nutrition services.

"If you don't get to children early, with health, nutrition and a chance for education, they will never be able to learn," said Fleming.

CCF has operated child development programs in Ethiopia since 1972 providing assistance to more than one million children and family members.