HORIZON INTERNATIONAL SOLUTIONS SITE

UN News Press Release:25 November 2005 – The United Nations International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), this year’s Nobel peace Prize co-laureate, announced today that its €525,000 share of the award will be used to create a fund for fellowships and training to improve cancer management and childhood nutrition in the developing world.

The IAEA Board of Governors decided at its meeting in Vienna to set up a special fund known as the IAEA Nobel Cancer and Nutrition Fund.

IAEA Director General ElBaradei, co-laureate with the Agency has already said he will direct his share of the prize money to charitable purposes.

The Board of Governors said that in the area of cancer management, the money will be spent on training in radiation oncology to improve treatment and care, as part of the IAEA’s Programme of Action on Cancer Therapy (PACT).

In the area of nutrition, the focus of the training is on the role of nutrition to help ensure healthy development of children using nuclear techniques to identify problems and evaluate the effectiveness of preventive measures taken.

Fellowship awards target young professionals, particularly women, from developing Member States, through the Agency's Technical Cooperation Programme. The Agency proposed to organize training courses in regional centres in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

At today’s Board meeting, Mr. ElBaradei encouraged Member States and donors to contribute to the Special Fund by giving additional resources both in cash and in kind. “It will be used to maximize the Agency’s ability to build capacity and transfer the needed know-how to developing countries,” he said.

The IAEA and its Director General,ElBaradei,won the 2005 Peace Prize “for their efforts to prevent nuclear energy from being used for military purposes and to ensure that nuclear energy for peaceful purposes is used in the safest possible way.”

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