Forty years ago, on June 5th, 1981, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published the first official report of what later became known as AIDS. Since then, USAID has made great strides combating HIV as a lead implementer of the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).
PEPFAR has helped save millions of lives. In fiscal year 2020, PEPFAR provided life-saving HIV treatment to 17.1 million people, and provided 50 million people with HIV testing services. USAID, through PEPFAR, provided antiretroviral treatment to 6.2 million people, and helped 5.7 million people living with HIV to achieve viral suppression, and enabled nearly one million people living with HIV to learn their HIV-positive status. In spite of disruptions to health service delivery in the last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, USAID and our partners quickly adapted to provide continued, safe access to HIV testing, prevention, care, and treatment services, while also leveraging our investments in health systems and supply chains to strengthen the pandemic response.
Beyond HIV treatment, USAID has also been at the forefront of research to develop HIV vaccines. Our investments have supported development of promising candidate HIV vaccines, as well as other new biomedical prevention products, like rings and long-acting injectables, that empower women and those most vulnerable to HIV to protect themselves.
Our work is made possible through our valuable partnerships—with people living with HIV, the private sector, civil society, and multilateral institutions like the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria. USAID’s HIV programming is now implemented by more than170 local partners, who each play a key role in ensuring the effectiveness of the HIV response.
We remain dedicated to ensuring resilient, country-led sustainable responses to HIV and other diseases. And today, we reaffirm our commitment to overcoming the HIV/AIDS epidemic.
To learn more about USAID’s contribution to the global fight against HIV, visit HIV and AIDS | US Agency for International Development.