The President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief - December 2007 Newsletter

Inside this Edition: President Bush Marks World AIDS Day, Announces PEPFAR Treatment Results [more] Emergency Plan Releases Latest Program Results [more] PBS’s NewsHour with Jim Lehrer Features PEPFAR-Supported Programs [more] New Partners Initiative Announces 14 Grants in the Fight Against HIV/AIDS [more] PEPFAR Country World AIDS Day Activities [more] WORLD AIDS DAY December 1, 2007    Please visit http://www.pepfar.gov/worldaidsday2007 for World AIDS Day information and resources, including the White House World AIDS Day Proclamation, Secretary Rice's statement and Ambassador Mark Dybul’s World AIDS Day blog. President Bush Marks World AIDS Day, Announces PEPFAR Treatment Results On Friday, November 30, 2007, President and Mrs. Bush visited a small church in Mount Airy, Maryland, where they met with representatives of international and domestic community- and faith-based groups that are working to care for people living with and affected by HIV/AIDS and prevent others from getting the virus. During his statement to mark World AIDS Day, President Bush noted: “World AIDS Day is both a day of sadness and a day of hope. We remember with sadness all those lost to AIDS. ...We also mark this day with hope -- for the improving prospects of those living with the virus, for the unprecedented number of infections being prevented, and for new progress toward eradicating this disease. Above all, we rededicate ourselves to a great purpose: We will turn the tide against HIV/AIDS -- once and for all.” During his remarks, President Bush announced that PEPFAR supported life saving antiretroviral treatment for nearly 1.4 million people in the 15 focus countries. To view President Bush’s World AIDS Day remarks, please visit: http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/11/20071130-4.html. Emergency Plan Releases Latest Program Results On November 30, 2007, the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (Emergency Plan/ PEPFAR) announced that it is supporting lifesaving antiretroviral treatment for approximately 1.45 million men, women and children worldwide, including approximately 1.36 million people in the 15 PEPFAR focus countries. These results also reflect the strong country-level partnership between PEPFAR and the Global Fund. PEPFAR issued a press release announcing that together, the two international partners are supporting antiretroviral treatment for approximately 2 million people living with AIDS worldwide. This press release is available online at: http:// www.pepfar.gov/press/96037.htm. Additional newly-released PEPFAR program results are available on the “Latest Results” fact sheet at http://www. pepfar.gov/press/95911.htm. PEPFAR’s focus country profiles have also been updated to reflect the latest treatment results: http://www. pepfar.gov/press/c19558.htm.   By supporting the most comprehensive, evidence-based program in the world, targeting interventions based on the epidemiology of HIV infection in each country, the Emergency Plan has supported through September 30, 2007: : Prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission services for women during more than 10 million pregnancies;   Antiretroviral prophylaxis for women during 800,000 pregnancies;   Prevention of an estimated 152,000 infant infections;   Care for nearly 6.7 million people, including more than 2.7 million orphans and vulnerable children;   Over 30 million counseling and testing sessions for men, women and children.   PBS’s NewsHour with Jim Lehrer Features PEPFAR-Supported Programs NewsHour with Jim Lehrer conducted a three-part series featuring United States efforts to combat HIV/AIDS in Africa, focusing on the successful PEPFAR-supported programs underway in Rwanda and Tanzania. The first show, entitled “In Rwanda, U.S.-Backed Program Improves Access to AIDS Drugs,” takes a close look at PEPFAR-supported antiretroviral treatment programs and how the United States, through PEPFAR, has changed the lives of many Rwandans living with HIV/AIDS by increasing access to treatment. For full story coverage, including the transcript, audio and video, please visit: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/africa/julydec07/ aids_11-06.html. The second show, entitled “U.S.-Backed HIV Services Help Boost Rwandan Health Care System,” examines how HIV/AIDS funding is improving Rwanda’s larger health care system. For full story coverage, including the transcript, audio and video, please visit: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/africa/july-dec07/aids_11-07.html. The third show, entitled “Tanzania Implements HIV Prevention Measures as World Marks AIDS Day,” highlights PEPFAR-supported prevention programs in Tanzania. For full story coverage, including the transcript, audio and video, please visit: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/africa/july-dec07/aids_11-30.html. New Partners Initiative Announces 14 Grants in the Fight Against HIV/AIDS On November 30, 2007, the U.S. Government announced the second round of planned grant awards under the New Partners Initiative (NPI), establishing new partnerships with 14 grants to the following recipients: American Refugee Committee International (ARC) – Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA Baptist AIDS Response Agency (BARA) – Nairobi, Kenya CAMFED USA Foundation – San Francisco, California, USA Children’s Emergency Relief International (CERI) – Kingwood, Texas, USA Comprehensive HIV AIDS Management Programme (CHAMP) – Lusaka, Zambia Handicap International Rwanda – Surrey, United Kingdom Integrated Community Based Initiatives (ICOBI) – Bushenyi District, Uganda Matibabu Foundation Kenya – Ugenya, Kenya St. Boniface Haiti Foundation – Randolph, Massachusetts, USA Sophumelela Clinic Incorporated (SCI) – Eastern Cape, South Africa Tearfund – Teddington, United Kingdom THETA – Kampala, Uganda Woord en Daad – Gorinchem, Netherlands World Conference of Religions for Peace (WCRP) – New York, New York, USA These new partners will join prior NPI grantees, announced on World AIDS Day 2006, in providing care for people infected and affected by HIV/AIDS, as well as preventing new infections. Several of the organizations will work through networks of local and faith-based organizations, thereby strengthening their capacity as well. NPI, announced by President George W. Bush in 2005 on World AIDS Day, is part of a broader effort within the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (Emergency Plan/PEPFAR) to work with new partners, including community- and faith-based organizations, enhancing their technical and organizational capacity and ensuring the quality and sustainability of HIV/AIDS programs by building community ownership. Additional information regarding this announcement is available on the “New Partners Initiative” fact sheet at: http://www.pepfar.gov/press/95930.htm. For more information regarding the planned grant recipients, please visit: http://www.pepfar.gov/press/95932.htm. PEPFAR Country World AIDS Day Activities A red AIDS ribbon hangs in front of the U.S. Embassy in Pretoria to mark World AIDS Day, December 1, 2007. Photo by South Africa PEPFAR Team Visit http://www.pepfar.gov/press/c19566.htm to view photographs and summaries of PEPFAR in-country World AIDS Day activities. Office of the U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator 2100 Pennsylvania Ave. NW Suite 200 Washington, DC 20522