First SECURE THE FUTURE™ Community Grants Awarded In Botswana

GABERONE, BOTSWANA (Tuesday, January 25, 2000) -- Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation Inc. today announced that SECURE THE FUTURE™ Community Outreach and Education grants have been made to support community projects run by the Botswana Christian Aids Intervention Program (BOCAIP) and the Reetsanang Association of Community Drama Groups.

BOCAIP will receive a five-year grant of $400,000 to support HIV/AIDS counseling, home visits, material assistance, support groups and outreach programs -- primarily for women and children. The Reetsanang Association of Community Drama Groups will receive a one-year grant of $32,000 for its ongoing HIV/AIDS awareness projects using theater as a grassroots communication tool.

The grants will be officially presented on Thursday to leaders of the two projects at a community function for local and national HIV/AIDS groups working in the public and private Sectors in Lobatse by Phangisile Mtshali, Director, Community Outreach and Education Fund, Secure The Future. The Botswana Minister of Health, Ms. Joy Phumaphi, will be guest of honor.

SECURE THE FUTURE is a $100 million commitment by Bristol-Myers Squibb Company to assist women and children with HIV/AIDS in South Africa, Swaziland, Namibia, Botswana and Lesotho. The program funds medical research and community outreach and education focusing on the psychosocial aspects of HIV/AIDS. It also encourages capacity-building educational programs in medicine, healthcare and public health.

“We are delighted that the community outreach funding program has started in Botswana with these two projects. They provide education, care and support in line with our pledge to provide more assistance to people suffering from HIV/AIDS,” said Ms. Phumaphi.

“The SECURE THE FUTURE e grants will provide important support for people in Botswana living with HIV/AIDS,” said Kenneth E. Weg, vice chairman, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company. ” The education initiatives they fund have the potential to change attitudes and behavior and to reduce HIV/AIDS.”

The applications for grants were reviewed by an independent peer review Technical Advisory Committee comprised of local, regional and international HIV/AIDS authorities. The committee reviews grant applications three times a year.

Botswana is one of the countries in Africa most affected by the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Up to 17 percent of its 1.5 million population are estimated to be HIV-positive, with the rate of new infections rising rapidly. In fact, AIDS is the largest cause of death in Botswana, with most deaths occurring among the young.

BOCAIP is an ecumenical initiative, launched in 1997, which provides counseling, home visits, material assistance, support groups and outreach programs -- primarily for women and children -- through centers at Maun, Molepolole, Lobatse and Ramotswa. Full-time staff and volunteers counsel and visit more than 15,000 people a year -- and reach out to many more.

Reetsanang, an organization of 78 community drama groups, was founded in 1986 to promote theater as a grassroots communication and educational vehicle. It has participated in previous HIV/AIDS education projects and now, with many of its younger members fallen victims to the disease, plans its own program to mobilize and empower women and young people in the fight against HIV/AIDS.

SECURE THE FUTURE was launched in May 1999, and since then it has initiated several other major projects:

Over the next five years, 250 physicians and healthcare workers will participate in one-year fellowships in public health at the Medical University of South Africa.

A bi-directional physician exchange and medical education program through Baylor College of Medicine/Texas Children’s Hospital, will train about 100 African and American physicians in HIV/AIDS specialization.

Bristol-Myers Squibb is a diversified, research-based health and personal care company whose principal businesses are pharmaceuticals, consumer products, nutritionals and medical devices.

Visit Bristol-Myers Squibb at www.bms.com

For more information, contact: Viccy Baker in South Africa, 2711-712-9600, or Bob Laverty, Bristol-Myers Squibb Public Affairs, 609-252-5732.