Blantyre, Malawi — Twelve African countries and India have been selected to benefit from a 3.8- billion-US-dollar USAID initiative to fight HIV/AIDS.

The money will be channelled through the Clinton administration's Leadership and Investment in Fighting Epidemic or LIFE initiative, which is meant to benefit countries hardest hit by the AIDS epidemic.

Vivian Lowery Derryck, a senior USAID official, said the LIFE initiative would involve increasing collaboration with governments and religion-based organisations in the fight against the disease.

"Working closely with the White House office, USAID is studying our current work with faith-based organisations and exploring areas for increased collaboration," she added.

Derryck said that 2.2 billion dollars of the money has already been earmarked for programmes focusing on home and community-based care, care for children orphaned by AIDS and to strengthen community participation in the fight against the disease.

Among the beneficiaries is Malawi which remains one of the hardest hit countries by the epidemic in the sub-Saharan Africa, having a national HIV prevalence of 14 percent of the population, according to statistics from the National AIDS Control Programme.

The hardest hit age bracket is the economically active, 15-49, leading to a World Bank study that says the epidemic has eroded most economic gains the country has had since independence from Britain in 1964.

It indicates that life expectancy that was in the late 1980s edging toward a more hopeful 47 years - has now come down to 36 years while per capita income has fallen to below 190 dollars from 220 dollars.

At least 365,000 people have already died from AIDS-related illnesses, leaving behind an estimated 300,000 orphans, a figure estimated to quintuple by 2002.

The national AIDS control programme said the USAID/LIFE funds will be used in four key areas of HIV/AIDS management areas -- support for the already infected, children orphaned by AIDS, programmes to prevent new infections and slowing down prevalence of mother-to-child transmissions.

In a related development, Malawi recently received 110 million dollars from the donor community toward its fight against the disease.