Assistance through the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) for Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in the Republic of Colombia

April 11, 2007

For the World Food Programme (WFP) Protracted Relief and Recovery Operation for the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in the Republic of Colombia, on April 5 (Thu), the Government of Japan, in response to a request from the WFP, decided to contribute US 200,000 dollars (about 22.2 million yen) out of its funds to the WFP for JICA/WFP/UNAIDS joint pilot project for the IDPs to prevent HIV/AIDS in the Caribbean region.

This assistance from the Government of Japan will be used for the project which targets the large number of IDPs who live in the Caribbean region, the poorest of whom have the highest risk of AIDS infection. It will support developing knowledge and consciousness of AIDS prevention which are implemented by JICA, WFP, and UNAIDS in cooperation. In the workshops held for the prevention of HIV/HIDS, WFP food will be provided for the participants in order to encourage people to join. There will be 30 participants on each course for two years, and 192 courses will be organized in total. It is expected that a total of 5,760 people will take part in the enlightenment programs.

Despite the fact that the HIV/AIDS infection rate in Colombia appears relatively controlled, the number of cases among the IDPs, and especially the poorest of the poor, is rising. In particular, IDPs consists of 70% of its dwellers whilst the rest are classified as the poorest in the area surrounding Cartagena City and the Nelson Mandela area, which are among the most affected areas. It is expected that the implementation of this program will have a deterrent effect on the expansion of AIDS infection in the region.

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