Women in Benin are at risk of sexual abuse and HIV/AIDS due to unstable finances. This project provides HIV/AIDS prevention education and small business loans so that women can support their families.
The HIV/AIDS infection rate in Benin has been rising since 1985 when it was 0.3 percent. By 2001 it had jumped to 4 percent. In the provinces of Plateau and Oueme, where World Builders is working, the infection rate is 2.5 percent. New cases are diagnosed daily and efforts to reduce the infection rate don’t seem to be working. Oueme and Plateau have a high number of very poor families in Benin. The only way to help these people to come out of abject poverty is to help them to secure a job.
This project will expand World Builder’s HIV/AIDS prevention efforts, reaching almost 2,000 people with life-saving advice, and will provide small business loans that will improve the quality of life for 1,800 people.
Through preventing the spread of HIV/AIDS by educating at-risk women and providing small business loans, they are able to train and educate other women. This gives them the opportunity to overcome traditions and enhance their role in society.
This project has provided additional documentation in a PDF file (projdoc.pdf).
