Peace Corps

The Peace Corps is heavily involved in the fight against HIV/AIDS, with programs in approximately 90 percent of its 67 posts, serving 73 countries¹ throughout the world. In its global, biennial Peace Corps volunteer survey (fiscal year 2006), 55 percent of all volunteers report being involved in at least one HIV/AIDS activity (e.g., awareness, prevention, OVC, care, etc.) during their service - a significant increase over the 25 percent reported in fiscal year 2004. The Peace Corps implements Emergency Plan programs in nine of the 15 Emergency Plan focus countries - Botswana, Guyana, Kenya, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia.² Peace Corps posts in these countries are using Emergency Plan resources to enhance their HIV/AIDS programming and in-country training; field additional Crisis Corps and Peace Corps volunteers specifically in support of Emergency Plan goals; and provide targeted support for community-initiated projects.

As a grassroots capacity-building organization, the Peace Corps is uniquely positioned to play an essential role in any country strategy aimed at combating HIV/AIDS. The Peace Corps' involvement in the Emergency Plan acts as a catalyst, since Peace Corps volunteers provide long-term capacity development support to non-governmental, community-based, and faith-based organizations, with particular emphasis on ensuring that community-initiated projects and programs provide holistic support to people living with and affected by HIV/AIDS. Peace Corps volunteers also aim to develop the necessary management and programmatic expertise at recipient and beneficiary organizations to ensure long-lasting support, particularly in rural communities. All of this is possible in large part because Peace Corps volunteers receive language and cultural training that enables them to become members of the communities in which they live and work.