Peace Corps Receives $500,000 Grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

WASHINGTON -- Peace Corps Director Mark Schneider today announced a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to bolster the Peace Corps' HIV/AIDS efforts. The $500,000 gift will enable Peace Corps volunteers to prepare better educational materials, conduct extensive training, and promote broad-based community outreach efforts.

"I want to thank the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for their significant contribution to our fight against this terrible disease. This grant will allow Peace Corps volunteers to reach thousands of people who otherwise would not benefit by these activities," said Schneider.

For the first time ever, all 2,400 Peace Corps volunteers serving in 25 countries in Africa will be trained as educators of HIV/AIDS prevention and care. By the end of the year 2000, the number of volunteers engaged in HIV/AIDS work is expected to increase six fold.

The global HIV/AIDS epidemic has reached critical proportions, particularly in Africa where it is estimated that 13.7 million people have died of the disease, and more than 11 million children have been orphaned by it. Of the 34 million people in the world infected with HIV/AIDS, 24 million are in Africa.

Nearly 7,000 Peace Corps volunteers serve in 76 countries around the world, providing assistance not only in AIDS education and prevention, but in protecting the environment, teaching children, promoting health and nutrition, and starting small businesses. Since 1961, more than 155,000 Americans have joined the Peace Corps.