USAID Commemorates World AIDS Day 2023

Every year on December 1, we commemorate World AIDS Day. USAID has proudly served as the premier development agency implementing the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) for 20 years. As we have moved from an emergency response to a focus on achieving sustained epidemic control, we acknowledge the progress we have made in the HIV response, reflect on the lives lost, and commit to ending HIV as a public health threat by 2030.

As many countries approach HIV epidemic control, we have a responsibility to strengthen the sustainability of the programs that provide life-saving services to people living with and affected by HIV. The U.S. government supports partner governments’ leadership and vision in their HIV/AIDS programs. We have done this by strengthening locally-led HIV service delivery, leveraging  efficiencies, and strengthening the country and regional health systems that support the HIV response.   

USAID's local partners lead the way in helping to end HIV as a public health threat, providing clinical services to over 70 percent of all USAID-supported individuals living with HIV.  In partnership with community-led organizations, we strive for equitable access to HIV prevention, care, and treatment services particularly for adolescent girls and young women, the LGBTQI+ community, children, people who use drugs, and other communities who continue to be disproportionately impacted by HIV.

Our work is not done. HIV remains a serious threat to global health. Every week across the globe, 4,000 adolescent girls and young women become infected with HIV. Overall, fewer men than women seek HIV testing and still remain untreated in higher numbers. And as of 2022, an estimated 1.5 million children are living with HIV and only 57 percent of these children are on life-saving HIV treatment. We are committed to closing these gaps.

In 2023, we are proud that USAID, through PEPFAR:

  • Provided over seven million people living with HIV with life-saving treatment.

  • Enabled three million infants to be born HIV-free to mothers living with HIV.

  • Supported over 5.8 million orphans and vulnerable children and their families affected by HIV.

  • Expanded access to prevention options by introducing a new generation of HIV prevention products for women.

Together with our partners and the global HIV community, USAID will continue to provide impactful, equitable, and innovative programming to end HIV as a public health threat by 2030.

 

 

 

 

 

Stories of Impact

Twenty Years of PEPFAR