U.S. led initiative will provide small business loans to support people with AIDS

A new U.S.-led initiative aims to reduce the "stigmatization" of people living with HIV/AIDS by associating HIV-positive people with successful businesses and encouraging cooperation between those with the disease and others in the community.

Dubbed "Positive Partnership," the program promotes economic development by encouraging entrepreneurship, especially among those recovering from the disease who might otherwise have trouble finding employment.

In Bangkok, Thailand, U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator Randall Tobias and Assistant Administrator for Global Health E. Anne Peterson of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) visited a locally run AIDS project to distribute loans under the new program. Their July 13 visit came on the sidelines of the XV International AIDS Conference.

The program is funded by USAID and is a joint collaboration between the Bangkok's Mercy Centre and Family Health International, a nongovernmental organization that is a U.S. partner in AIDS programs.

http://usinfo.state.gov/