THE Minister for Labour and Employment, Ms Gaudensia Kabaka, launched an over 450m/- Corridor Economic Empowerment Innovation Fund meant to address the needs of vulnerable groups of women, young girls and boys operating in the informal sector in selected communities.
The launching was done in Dar es Salaam whereas the International Labour Organisation (ILO) contributed 226.5m/- while Savings and Credit Cooperatives Union League of Tanzania (SCCULT) settled for the remainder.
The fund will serve women and youth business community found at the hotspot of the transport corridors that are at risk of HIV due to the nature of their business as well as interactions with truck drivers and border officials.
Ms Kabaka urged the beneficiaries to make sure that they maximize business opportunities instead of indulging in high risk behaviours, such as having multiple partners.
"I believe you will now engage in productive business rather than sex work, you should therefore use the funds for the intended purpose, your economic empowerment," she said.
The ILO Dar es Salaam Country Office official, Ms Hopolang Phororo, said the innovation fund was part of the programme on HIV and AIDS in the informal economy.
She said the fund was part of the project dubbed as Economic Empowerment and HIV Vulnerability Reduction along Transport Corridors in Southern Africa of which Tanzania is one of the targeted countries as well as Zambia, Mozambique, Malawi, Zimbabwe and South Africa.
"The fund is meant to create economic opportunities that place beneficiaries in a better situation to address the underlying inequalities that fuel the HIV epidemic," she said.
Earlier, SCCULT General Secretary, Mr Habibu Mhezi said the fund is designed to provide financial resources to identify vulnerable groups of girls and young women, especially out-of-school young women and girls operating along the selected hotspots in the transport corridors.
He said the first phase will serve beneficiaries along the Tanzania-Zambia Corridor in Chalinze, (Coast), Ilula, Mafinga (Iringa), Makambako (Njombe), Kyela and Tunduma (Mbeya) to start or improve their businesses after going through a business development skills (BDS) training as one way of reducing their vulnerability to HIV.
Those to be served include the most at risk or vulnerable to HIV and AIDS including local women; sex workers; barmaids; girl and boy child labourers; businesspeople; long-distance truck drivers; employees posted on assignments away from their families.
