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In his 2003 State of the Union Address, President George W. Bush announced the Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, a $15 billion initiative to turn the tide in the global effort to combat the HIV/AIDS pandemic -- the largest commitment by a single nation toward an international health initiative. The Emergency Plan includes up to $1 billion for the Global Fund for AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. The Emergency Plan encompasses HIV/AIDS activities in more than 75 countries to develop comprehensive and integrated prevention, care and, in an historic way, treatment programs, with an urgent focus on the 15 most affected countries, including Mozambique.
The goals of the President’s Emergency Plan are:
- Encourage bold leadership at every level to fight HIV/AIDS;
- Apply best practices within our bilateral programs in concert with host governments’ national HIV/AIDS strategies; and
- Encourage all partners, including multilateral organizations and other host governments, to coordinate, to adhere to sound management practices, and harmonize monitoring and evaluation efforts.
In focus countries Emergency Plan will:
- Support treatment to 2 million HIV-infected people;
- Prevent 7 million new HIV infections; and
- Support care for 10 million people infected and affected by HIV/AIDS, including orphans and vulnerable children.
President George W. Bush appointed Ambassador Randall L. Tobias as the U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator responsible for implementation of the Emergency Plan. Ambassador Tobias reports directly to the U.S. Secretary of State in coordinating all U.S. Government resources that are devoted to the Emergency Plan.
In Mozambique, the U.S. Ambassador leads all Emergency Plan efforts being implemented by the U.S. Government. A team comprised of senior officials from all U.S. agencies represented in the country jointly makes decisions on the implementation of the Emergency Plan in the country. The implementing agencies include the U.S. Embassy, USAID, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Department of Defense and the Peace Corps. The Director of USAID serves as the coordinator of the Ambassador’s Emergency Plan Team.
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