Adama April 8 (ENA)--The Ministry of Health says the G8 group has approved a grant amounting to 243 million US Dollars for the prevention and control of TB, HIV/AIDS and malaria diseases in Ethiopia.

TB and Leprosy prevention and control team leader with the ministry Dr. Berhane Kidanemariam made the announcement at a National Workshop on the Health Sector Development Program.

Dr. Berhane told the workshop that the fund to be utilized during the coming five years was approved by the Global Fund for AIDS, TB and Malaria.

He said 140 million US Dollars of the reported fund would go into the efforts geared to control HIV/AIDS.

The team leader said 76 US Dollars would be utilized in malaria prevention, while the balance, which amounts to 27 million US Dollars, for TB prevention and control activities.

Dr. Berhane said 54 million US Dollars would be released this year and the balance in yearly installments.

Mitigating the effects of the three most deadly diseases have been a priority in the National Health Sector Development Program.

Some 75 per cent of Ethiopia's total land area is prone to malaria, and the current drought situation is said to have fuelled the disease to surface in epidemics in some parts of the country.

However, the Ministry has launched huge efforts in the pre-emptive and curative fronts and succeeded in minimizing the impact on human lives, he indicated.

In Ethiopia to date, TB and HIV/AIDS are the two major alliance, which have been taking unprecedented human toll.

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