Donors give $70 mln for Zimbabwe AIDS orphans

HARARE (Reuters) - Foreign donors gave $70 million on Thursday to help Zimbabwe cope with growing numbers of AIDS orphans in what officials said was a rare show of unity among the government, donors and non-governmental organizations.

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) says one in four children in the southern African nation -- about 1.6 million children -- have lost one or both parents to HIV/AIDS, which claims the lives of 3,000 Zimbabweans every week.

The funds were made available by Britain, New Zealand, Sweden and German and would be jointly administered by UNICEF, NGOs and the Zimbabwe government to help ensure orphans gained access to facilities such as education and health care.

President Robert Mugabe has previously accused donors of working with the opposition to overthrow his government, and has drafted a bill requiring NGOs to be registered with the government.

"In a complex and difficult environment this is an outstanding agreement between a diverse group of key institutions," UNICEF Zimbabwe representative Festo Kavishe told journalists.

Under the five-year program, a total of $250 million would be required to help the country's orphans, donors say.

Zimbabwe is among the countries worst hit by the HIV/AIDS pandemic, which accounts for 70 percent of hospital admissions.

But there were also signs of hope as the HIV prevalence rate declined to 18.1 percent this year from 25 percent five years ago.

Health experts say the fall is due to more condom use and the success of programs encouraging people to have fewer sex partners.