The United States President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR)
Since the first case was reported more than 25 years ago, HIV/AIDS has exacted a devastating toll on families, communities, and nations and around the world. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), HIV/AIDS has killed more than 25 million people globally, and has infected approximately 39.5 million people, including 4.3 million people newly infected with HIV in 2006. In the same year, 2006, 2.9 million people died of AIDS. HIV/AIDS is now the world’s leading cause of death among both men and women 15 to 59 years old. More than 60 percent of the AIDS disease burden and 65 percent of new infections are in sub-Saharan Africa.
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The United States President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR)
The United States is leading the fight against the global scourge of HIV/AIDS. In his 2003 State of the Union Address, President Bush announced his Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, a five-year, $15 billion international initiative that marked a turning point in the global response to HIV/AIDS. The President’s Emergency Plan supports diverse prevention, treatment and care programs, with an emphasis on transparency and accountability for results. The goals of the initiative are to support the prevention of seven million new infections, support the treatment of two million HIV-infected people, and help care for 10 million people affected by HIV/AIDS, including orphans. Authorized by Public Law 108-25 (PDF - 127KB) in May 2003, the Emergency Plan is the largest international health initiative directed at a single disease. The strategy places a special emphasis on 15 focus countries in Africa, the Caribbean Region, and Asia. The Office of Global Health Affairs in the Office of the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) coordinates all of the HHS agencies to ensure all of the Department's resources are working effectively and efficiently in the Emergency Plan.
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Global HIV/AIDS Work by HHS Agency
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has a long history of HIV/AIDS work within the United States and internationally. Under the Emergency Plan, HHS implements prevention, treatment, and care programs in developing countries and conducts HIV/AIDS research through:
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Global AIDS Program (CDC/GAP)
CDC/GAP has highly trained physicians, epidemiologists, public health advisors, behavioral scientists, and laboratory scientists working in offices in 24 countries (including the 15 focus countries) as part of U.S. government teams implementing the Emergency Plan. CDC/GAP is uniquely positioned to coordinate with CDC's other global health programs, such as global disease detection, public health training, and prevention and control of other infectious diseases such as malaria and tuberculosis, as well as with CDC's domestic HIV/AIDS prevention programs in the United States. - Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Global HIV/AIDS Program
HRSA builds human capacity for scaling up care and treatment based on its more than 20 years of experience in providing quality, comprehensive HIV/AIDS care to underserved communities. HRSA implements strategies through activities such as twinning, training and technical assistance, rapid roll-out of antiretroviral drugs, mentoring for nursing leadership, and enhancement of the continuum of palliative care. - National Institutes of Health (NIH)
NIH supports a comprehensive program of basic, clinical, and behavioral research on HIV infection and its associated opportunistic infections, co-infections, and malignancies. This research will lead to a better understanding of the basic biology of HIV/AIDS, the development of effective therapies to treat it, and the design of better interventions to prevent new infections, including vaccines and microbicides. NIH, through its 27 Institutes and Centers,including coordination and support from the Fogarty International Center, supports an international research and training portfolio that encompasses more than 90 countries, and it is the lead Federal agency for biomedical research on HIV/AIDS. - Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
FDA manages an expedited review process to ensure implementers can buy safe and effective antiretroviral drugs for the Emergency Plan at the lowest possible prices. This process has significantly reduced the cost of treatment by making the quality generic products available for registration and marketing in the 15 Emergency Plan focus countries. The result is that more patients receive treatment at a lower cost with high-quality antiretroviral drugs. - Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), HIV/AIDS Prevention
SAMHSA works domestically through U.S. State and community programs to treat addiction and dependence, to prevent substance abuse, and to provide mental health services, including support of an educational and training center network that disseminates state-of-the-art information and best practices. HHS and PEPFAR country teams are applying this technical expertise and program experience to the program areas of drug and alcohol abuse in the Emergency Plan.
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Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria
The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria was established as a non-profit, Swiss foundation in January 2002. It is a unique public-private partnership that attracts, manages, and disburses resources to countries burdened by one of the three diseases. The United States was instrumental in the establishment of the Global Fund, and President Bush announced the Fund's first pledge in May 2001. The U.S. government has provided roughly 30 percent of all contributions to the Fund and holds a seat on its governing Board. Through the first six rounds of funding, the Global Fund committed over $8.4 billion in grants to 136 countries.
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World AIDS Day
World AIDS Day (WAD) is December 1. It was established in 1988 by the World Health Organization to focus attention on the HIV/AIDS epidemic.
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Last revised: April 09, 2009
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