Turner's UN Foundation awards $104 million in grants this year

The United Nations Foundation (UNF) has announced that it has given $104 million worth of grants this year, focusing on reproductive health, children's health and environmental protection.

At a press briefing yesterday in New York, the UNF's Chairman, Ted Turner, and its President, Timothy E. Wirth, outlined its work during the past year and the details of the recent meeting of its board of directors.

Mr. Wirth said this year's amount of $104 million brought the UNF's total grant making over the years to $689 million, spread across the funding of programmes, fundraising projects and help with public affairs.

He said $125 million has now been spent by the UNF on reproductive health, while $275 million has been spent on children's health, particularly on measures to combat polio and measles.

The UNF's board expanded to 11 this year with the addition of Dr. Gro Harlem Brundtland, the former Prime Minister of Norway and former Director-General of the World Health Organization. The board is now composed of six women and five men.

Mr. Turner said the UNF is also receiving extra help, financially and materially, from new partners, including the International Committee of the Red Cross, the United States Red Cross, the US Centers for Disease Control and the Estee Lauder company.