Prevention

The world cannot defeat this pandemic through treatment and care alone. The UNAIDS 2008 Report on the Global AIDS Epidemic estimates that there were approximately 2.7 million new HIV infections in 2007.

This indicates that new infections still far outpace the world's ability to add people to treatment. The best approach to the challenges posed by HIV/AIDS is to prevent infection in the first place.

PEPFAR supports the most comprehensive, evidence-based prevention program in the world, targeting interventions based on the epidemiology of HIV infection in each country.

These include reducing sexual transmission with the ABC Strategy (Abstain, Be Faithful, correct and consistent use of Condoms), the prevention of mother-to-child transmission, the transmission of HIV through unsafe blood and medial injections, and male circumcision.

PEPFAR also integrates new prevention methods and technologies as evidence is accumulated and normative guidance provided. It is important for prevention activities to enter the 21st century and keep pace with evidence-based techniques and modalities that have been developed to change human behavior, especially those developed in the private sector for commercial marketing.

PEPFAR Five-Year Goal:

• Support prevention of 7 million infections.

Progress Achieved through September 30, 2008:

• Reached an estimated 58.3 million people through community outreach programs to prevent sexual transmission using the ABC approach.
• U.S. Government has supplied more than 2.2 billion condoms worldwide from 2004 to 2008.
• Supported prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission during nearly 16 million pregnancies.
• Supported antiretroviral prophylaxis for nearly 1.2 million pregnant women found to be HIV-positive, allowing nearly 240,000 infants to be born HIV-free.

Allocation of Resources in FY2008:

• In the focus countries in FY2008, PEPFAR provided approximately $712 million to support prevention activities. This investment represents 22 percent of focus country program funding. If counseling and testing are counted as prevention, this share increases to 29 percent.