The National Aids Council (NAC) has donated more than ZWL$300 million to the Basic Education Assistance Module (BEAM).
The donation was handed over by NAC chief executive officer Bernard Madzima to Deputy Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare Lovemore Matuke on Friday at the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF).
He said the money is for the payment of school fees and covering expenses for the vulnerable children so that they continue attending school thereby reducing the risk of contracting HIV. Said Madzima:
I am honoured to hand over our contribution towards BEAM for 2023. This financial assistance is coming from the Nac Trust fund generally known as Aids levy.
As a country, we have achieved the 2025 95-95-95 targets and we are so proud of that milestone.
Despite this achievement, we are looking at around 500 000 affected children who are orphaned or now vulnerable due to HIV and AIDS hence this donation will ensure they have access to shelter, education and food.
This donation is part of our comprehensive approach to HIV prevention.
For over a decade now we have been contributing towards BEAM and I can safely say we cater for at least 10 per cent of the BEAM’s yearly budget.
We work towards the reduction of HIV and addressing education needs helps us reduce new infections.
This will help us achieve our target of ending AIDS as a public health concern by 2030.
95-95-95 means that 95 per cent of infected individuals know their status, 95 per cent of those infected are on medication and 95 per cent of those on medication achieve viral suppression.
BEAM is a Government-run programme aimed at providing financial assistance to vulnerable children who are in need of support to access education.
BEAM supports orphaned and vulnerable children aged between six and 19 and about 1.8 million children are being assisted under the programme.
