Partnering to Fight AIDS

The U.S. Agency for International Development is a key partner in the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief.

The PlayPumps™ water system brings clean drinking water into local communities. On September 20, 2006, First Lady Laura Bush announced that the U.S. Government, through USAID and PEPFAR, will contribute $10 million toward a partnership to bring clean water to 10 sub-Saharan African countries, focusing in particular on communities affected by HIV/AIDS. Learn more

The Promise of Partnerships

Partnerships – large and small, public and private, multilateral and bilateral – are a key ingredient in the global fight against HIV/AIDS. For 45 years, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has provided assistance to developing countries through a vast network of organizations, including international bodies, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), businesses, universities, and indigenous groups. With the advent of the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, a $15 billion initiative to fight HIV/AIDS around the world, the United States now leads the world in its level of support to fight HIV/AIDS. Accordingly, USAID and its partners are working through the Emergency Plan to expand the quality of HIV/AIDS prevention, care, and treatment programs.

USAID works with HIV/AIDS partners in three primary ways:

• Through traditional USAID funding mechanisms that support NGOs (i.e., grantees and contractors), a number of which are community- and faith-based groups
  


• Through public international organizations, such as the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria
  


• Through distinct collaborative agreements or public-private partnerships with businesses and multinational corporations

Partnering with Host Nations: South Africa Focus

Since the late 1990s, USAID has played an instrumental role in bringing the internationally famous Sesame Street children’s television series to South Africa. Working with the South African Broadcasting Corporation and Sesame Workshop, USAID developed and produced Takalani Sesame, the South African version of Sesame Street. USAID also supported the training of local producers to adapt the show for radio to reach millions of South African children without access to televisions. In 2002, Takalani Sesame reached a milestone with the debut of Kami, the first HIV-positive Muppet. In 2005, Takalani Sesame received the Governor of Tokyo Prize in the prestigious Japan Prize Contest, which honors media that contribute to the advancement of educational television around the world.

Some Key USAID HIV/AIDS Partners

Support for Nongovernmental Organizations (Traditional USAID Grantees and Contractors)

• Supply Chain Management System. The Supply Chain Management System project, an Emergency Plan funded project administered by USAID, delivers essential lifesaving medicines and supplies to the front lines of HIV/AIDS programs around the world. The project is strengthening existing supply chains and helping to establish new ones to ensure a safe, secure, reliable, and sustainable supply chain management system to procure pharmaceuticals and other products for people with HIV/AIDS and related infections.
  


• New Partners Initiative. The Emergency Plan’s New Partner’s Initiative, administered by USAID, is providing $200 million to faith- and community-based organizations to implement HIV/AIDS prevention and care services.

Support for Public International Organizations

• Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. With President George W. Bush’s pledge to contribute $1 billion over five years beginning in 2004, the United States is the Global Fund’s largest donor. By the end of 2006, the United States will already have exceeded the President’s initial pledge, bringing the aggregate U.S. contribution to the Fund to over $2 billion. USAID provides staff support to the Fund and works with its local coordinating committees to improve implementation of Fund programs and their complement to U.S. Government programs.
  

Support for Public-Private Partnerships

• Pfizer Global Health Fellows. USAID works behind the scenes to establish assignments for Pfizer’s Global Health Fellows program, which loans personnel worldwide to NGOs and ministries of health for the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief. Along with health care personnel, Pfizer loans financial and organizational management experts who support partner NGOs and local ministries in strengthening health systems. As a result of Pfizer loaning a fellow with expertise in financial management, the Mothers-to-Mothers-to-Be Program (M2M2B) in Cape Town, South Africa, was able to open 15 new sites and is planning 17 more.
  


• Coca-Cola. USAID partners with the Coca-Cola Company, which works in 56 of 57 countries in Africa and is the largest private sector employer on the continent. This alliance supports HIV/AIDS treatment, prevention, and care for the employees of Coca Cola bottlers and their families. The alliance also supports community outreach initiatives, including job creation, for orphans and youth affected by AIDS.
  


• International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI). Through a collaborative agreement, IAVI and USAID are building in-country capacity to improve significantly how HIV vaccine candidates are developed and prioritized; to perform clinical research trials in developing countries; and to implement public policies that aid in the acceleration and support of HIV vaccine research and development.

November 2006

• Printer-friendly version [PDF, 118KB]