In advance of World AIDS Day 2018 , the U.S. Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo today announced the latest results achieved by American leadership and partnerships through the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), which has now saved more than 17 million lives.
As of September 30, 2018, PEPFAR is supporting over 14.6 million people on lifesaving antiretroviral treatment (ART), up from with the 50,000 people who were on ART in Africa when PEPFAR began in 2003. PEPFAR has also enabled over 2.4 million babies to be born HIV-free to mothers living with HIV; supported over 6.8 million orphans, vulnerable children, and their caregivers; provided voluntary medical male circumcision to 18.9 million men and boys in eastern and southern Africa, offering them critical protection from HIV infection; and trained more than 270,000 health care workers.
Additional PEPFAR data reveal that Ethiopia is on the verge of achieving HIV epidemic control and that Nigeria may be closer to achieving HIV epidemic control than was previously thought, with the majority of Nigerians who report being on HIV treatment having suppressed their viral replication, allowing them to thrive and not transmit the virus.
“Our latest results show that controlling the HIV epidemic is not only possible, it is happening – country by country, community by community,” said Ambassador Deborah L. Birx, M.D., U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator and Special Representative for Global Health Diplomacy. “PEPFAR has helped transform HIV from a death sentence to a situation where 17 million more men, women, and children are alive and thriving. Through the generosity of the American people and our partnerships with countries and communities around the globe, we are proving the remarkable power of accountable, transparent, and effective U.S. foreign assistance. ”
A new PEPFAR report released today highlights that, in the past year, new HIV diagnoses among adolescent girls and young women continued to decline in 85 percent of the highest HIV burden communities/districts that are implementing the program’s DREAMS public-private partnership. In addition, eight of the DREAMS-supported districts that had less than a 25 percent decline of new HIV diagnoses among adolescent girls and young women in 2017 had a greater than 25 percent decline in 2018 – showing marked success. These reductions are particularly critical as, in 2017, three in four new infections in sub-Saharan Africa occurred among girls ages 15-19.
Today’s results build upon the significant progress highlighted in the 2018 PEPFAR Strategy Progress Report released in September, which shows that up to 13 high HIV burden countries are on pace to control their HIV epidemics by 2020 through the support of the U.S. government and its partners. That report also highlighted that many more of the 53 countries globally that are supported by PEPFAR could achieve epidemic control by 2020 by focusing their resources and policies to ensure access to HIV prevention and treatment services for those most in need.
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The U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief
PEPFAR is the United States government’s response to the global HIV epidemic, which represents the largest commitment by any nation to address a single disease in history. Through the compassion and generosity of the American people, PEPFAR has saved 17 million of lives, prevented millions of HIV infections, and is accelerating progress toward controlling the HIV pandemic. For more information, please visit www.pepfar.gov , and connect with PEPFAR on Twitter , Facebook , and Instagram .