Research Study Confirms PEPFAR Has Saved Lives
FrontLines - June 2009
By Roslyn Matthews and Jessica DiRocco
A $15 billion U.S. program to
fight HIV/AIDS saved 1.2 million
people from dying of AIDS
between 2004 and 2007 in 12
African countries, according to a
study published in the Annals of
Internal Medicine in May.
PEPFAR—the President’s
Emergency Plan for AIDS
Relief—is the largest initiative in
the world to combat the global
AIDS crisis. It lowered the death
rate on average by 10.5 percent a
year in Botswana, Cote d’Ivoire,
Ethiopia, Kenya, Mozambique,
Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, South
Africa, Tanzania, Uganda and
Zambia, according to the study.
“What this study confirms is
that, over time, PEPFAR is
changing the dynamics of the
HIV/AIDS epidemic,” said
Robert Clay, director of
USAID’s Office of HIV/AIDS.
“This is certainly good news.
But we must not get off track;
our success is tempered by significant
challenges that still
remain ahead.”
USAID implemented 60 percent
of PEPFAR assistance in 2008.
Photo by Ashley Peterson Allen, USAID
Expectant mother Yemeh Smith receives a
rapid diagnostic test for malaria from a trained
community health volunteer in Todee District,
Liberia, on World Malaria Day this year.
The study noted that, as the
number of people receiving antiretroviral
drugs increases, the
cost of providing treatment is
expected to increase as well.
“A key issue for us within the
PEPFAR program is making sure
we enhance our collective understanding
of the economic and
clinical implications of sustained
AIDS treatment programs,” Clay
said. “This is essential to ensure
the survival of people that desperately
need treatment, the sustainability
of programs, and valuably
underscores the need for
strong HIV prevention
strategies.”
Officials will talk about the
next steps in the battle against
HIV/AIDS at the HIV
Implementers’ Meeting, which
includes partner organizations, in
Namibia June 10 to 14. The international
event is co-sponsored by
PEPFAR, along with the government
of Namibia; the Global Fund
to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and
Malaria (Global Fund); UNAIDS;
UNICEF; the World Bank; the
World Health Organization; and the Global Network of People
Living with HIV/AIDS.
Reauthorized in July 2008,
PEPFAR is in its second phase
and is expanding approaches to
the prevention of sexual transmission
of HIV. Over the next several
years, PEPFAR will emphasize a
combination approach towards
HIV prevention, including male
circumcision and a focus on mostat-
risk populations.
Through the PEPFAR reauthorization,
the United States has
now committed an additional $39
billion for HIV/AIDS projects in
specific countries and for the
Global Fund. This is in addition
to the more than $18 billion the
United States has already
invested for global AIDS through
the first years of PEPFAR, well
exceeding the original commitment
of $15 billion.
New goals for PEPFAR
include providing treatment for at
least 3 million people, preventing
12 million new infections, and
providing care for 12 million
people, including 5 million
orphans and vulnerable children.
Currently, there are about 33
million people living with HIV,
and two-thirds of those infected
are in sub-Saharan Africa,
according to the World Health
Organization and UNAIDS.
★
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