HIV/AIDS and the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief

The U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) was launched in 2003, and is the largest commitment ever by any nation for an international health initiative dedicated to a single disease - a comprehensive approach to combating HIV/AIDS around the world. Under PEPFAR, the U.S. Government has committed more than $25 billion to the fight against global AIDS. The U. S. Global AIDS Coordinator, Ambassador Goosby, leads the implementation of the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).

Please visit http://www.pepfar.gov/ for additional information regarding PEPFAR.

News and Articles

2012

12 March 2012 HIV Spikes in African-American Women; U.S. Pushes Awareness  U.S. government health agencies are focusing public attention on HIV awareness among women and girls, at the same time new research shows that HIV infection among certain populations of African-American women is five times the national average.  Research released from a New York–based institution adds another element of urgency to that message with findings that show African-American women in selected U.S. urban areas have an HIV infection rate five times higher than the average for women in that ethnic group nationwide.

10 January 2012 New Research Findings on HIV/AIDS Focus on Youth  The U.S. National Institutes of Health is releasing research findings which show that megadoses of vitamin D can help to counteract the bone loss that occurs as a side effect of tenofovir, a drug administered to some patients to treat HIV infection.

05 January 2012 Successful Animal Vaccine Holds Clues to Human Vaccine for HIV   An international research team has developed a vaccine that provides some protection for monkeys against the simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV), and the discovery may light the path to a vaccine candidate that will protect humans from HIV.

2011

14 December 2011 Science Points Way to Lifesaving HIV/AIDS Programs   Moving swiftly to implement the findings of successful research has saved lives and slowed the global pandemic of HIV/AIDS, according to a U.S. leader in the campaign, Ambassador-at-Large Eric Goosby. Dr. Goosby, the U.S. global AIDS coordinator, spoke December 13 to an audience at the National Institutes of Health, which has been a world leader in scientific breakthroughs about HIV/AIDS and ways to combat it. “The link between knowledge generation and rapid deployment in the epicenter of the epidemic makes for a powerful combination,” Goosby said.

01 December 2011  Investments in Fighting AIDS Pay Off: No Time to Stop    Investments in HIV prevention and treatment are paying off, and now is not the time to pull back.  AIDS was identified 30 years ago, and the U.S. has played a leading role in achieving scientific progress and in translating science into programs. PEPFAR, the main U.S. program fighting global AIDS, has saved millions of lives and reduced the cost of treating one HIV patient with antiretroviral drugs by 24 percent since 2010.

01 December 2011 Remarks by the President on World AIDS Day  "This is a global fight, and it’s one that America must continue to lead.  Looking back at the history of HIV/AIDS, you’ll see that no other country has done more than this country, and that’s testament to our leadership as a country".

30 November 2011 Working Toward an AIDS-Free Generation  December 1 is World AIDS Day, and the United States is working to achieve an AIDS-free generation.  An AIDS-free generation would mean that no children in the world would be born with HIV; that as children become young adults, they would remain at a far lower risk of becoming infected than children today; and if a person did acquire the virus, he or she would get treatment to prevent the development of AIDS or passing the virus to others.

08 November 2011 U.S. Will Strive for AIDS-Free Generation, Secretary Clinton Says   U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced  that the United States is striving to create an “AIDS-free generation,” and is calling on other nations, donors and international organizations to embrace the same goal.   Clinton defined an AIDS-free generation as one where no babies are born infected with their mother’s HIV in the womb; no adults risk exposure to the virus because prevention efforts are so thorough; and any person who does contract HIV receives treatment to prevent the development of AIDS.

13 September 2011 Secretary Clinton at Pink Ribbon Red Ribbon Partnership Summit  Remarks by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at the Pink Ribbon Red Ribbon Partnership at the Summit to Save Lives.

18 July 2011 AIDS Specialists Set Goal for a Cure  Thirty years after clinical identification of the first case of HIV/AIDS, the international medical community is ready to push for a cure for the disease. The goal to accelerate AIDS research has been set at the International AIDS Society’s conference in Rome July 17–20.

11 June 2011  Clinton Praises Zambia's Fights Against HIV/AIDS  Thanks to a partnership between the United States and Zambia against HIV/AIDS, the transmission of HIV from mother to child has been “practically eliminated,” in the country, says Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.

09 June 2011 Hope for Vaccine Grows as World Reaffirms AIDS Commitment  The U.N. General Assembly has reaffirmed its commitment to addressing the global epidemic of HIV/AIDS at a special session in New York as U.S. officials express optimism about multilateral partnerships against the disease and the prospect of finding an effective vaccine that could stop HIV contagion.

08 June 2011 Obama on U.N.’s High-Level Meeting on HIV/AIDS  "As we mark the 30th year of our fight against HIV/AIDS, I join the United Nations High-Level Meeting on HIV/AIDS in honoring the memory of all those we have lost to this disease and rededicating ourselves to the fight against this pandemic.  Thanks to an aggressive global response, fewer people are being infected, a diagnosis is no longer a death sentence and more people with HIV/AIDS are living long, vibrant lives."

04 June 2011 White House on Recommitment to Fighting HIV/AIDS Pandemic  “We pause to mark the thirty years we have been fighting HIV/AIDS.” said President Barack Obama.  “As we remember people in our own lives we have lost and stand by those living with HIV/AIDS, we must also rededicate ourselves to finally ending this pandemic – in this country and around the world.”

31 May 2011 Research Key to Ending 30-Year-Old AIDS Epidemic  Research has produced many breakthroughs to prolong the lives of people infected with the virus that causes AIDS, but the work must continue if science is to lead the way toward ending the epidemic, according to an article published May 31 by two U.S. leaders in the medical community.

13 December 2010  HIV/AIDS and Disabilities: Making the Connection  About 650 million people, or 10 percent of the world’s population, live with disabilities. Most of these people live in developing countries.  They are at risk of exposure to HIV but are often left out of prevention and treatment efforts, according to a 2004 World Bank/Yale University survey. Information may not be designed for people with hearing or sight impairments, and health clinics often are not wheelchair-accessible.

01 December 2010 World Aids Day 2010    On this day we honor the millions of people around the world  who have been impacted by the AIDS epidemic -- those who are living with HIV, those we have lost, and the caregivers, families, friends and communities who have provided support.

01 December 2010 U.S. to Fund HIV Treatment for 4 Million People by 2013  Increased U.S. support for anti-retroviral treatments will help deliver life-saving drugs to more than 4 million people living with HIV around the world by 2013, according to the State Department.

01 December 2010 World Aids Day 2010    On this day we honor the millions of people around the world  who have been impacted by the AIDS epidemic -- those who are living with HIV, those we have lost, and the caregivers, families, friends and communities who have provided support.

10 November 2010 PEPFAR Showing Greater Effectiveness, Efficiency Against HIV/AIDS  Nearly seven years after the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) was announced, the program is having an "extraordinary impact" on the prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS, with data showing that more than 2.5 million people have been directly supported by its treatments through 2009, according to U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator and PEPFAR Administrator Dr. Eric Goosby.

05 October 2010 U.S. Funding Pledge for HIV/AIDS, Malaria, Tuberculosis Fund

04 October 2010 Global Health Investments: Progress Seen, More Success Sought   A key principle that guides President Obama’s Global Health Initiative is strengthening health care to save lives and creating sustainable health care programs in areas with the greatest need around the world, says Ambassador Eric Goosby, the State Department's global AIDS coordinator.

23 July 2010 Microbicide Makes Historic Progress in Preventing HIV Infection   A gel that may be able to reduce the risk of infection by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) offers new hope and direction for HIV prevention, according to the United States global AIDS coordinator. A study of 889 women in Durban, South Africa, has shown that a microbicide gel containing an antiretroviral drug can reduce the risk of contracting the virus that causes AIDS.

22 July 2010 Clinton, Vietnamese Justice Minister at PEPFAR Ceremony  U.S., Vietnam sign partnership framework to fight HIV/AIDS epidemic.

19 July 2010 18th International AIDS Conference Stresses Right to Health   With the HIV/AIDS epidemic still raging and the global economic crisis threatening desperately needed funding, an estimated 20,000 participants from 185 countries are assembling in Vienna July 18–23 for the 18th International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2010).

13 July 2010 White House on National HIV/AIDS Strategy  In the United States, approximately 56,000 people become infected with HIV each year and more than 1.1 million Americans are living with HIV. To combat this growing epidemic, the White House today released the National HIV/AIDS Strategy (NHAS) and accompanying NHAS Federal Implementation Plan.   Secretary Sebelius also announced that $30 million of the Affordable Care Act’s Prevention Fund will be dedicated to the implementation of the NHAS.

01 December 2009 World AIDS Day 2009: Working Together to Fight HIV/AIDS
 • Fact Sheet : America's Commitment to the Fight Against Global AIDS

30 November 2009 The Obama Administration's Efforts on HIV/AIDS  On the eve of World AIDS Day, Secretary of State Clinton, Secretary of Health and Human Services Sebelius, Ambassador Goosby, MD, U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator and Valerie Jarrett, Senior Advisor and Assistant to the President for Intergovernmental Affairs and Public Engagement today highlighted the efforts of the Obama Administration on HIV/AIDS issues.  At the White House event, the speakers also announced that the International AIDS Society will hold the XIX International AIDS Conference in Washington, DC, in July 2012.

30 November 2009 Clinton Cites AIDS as Defining Health Challenge of Today  Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton highlighted the continued threat HIV/AIDS poses to the world in a special event at the White House, calling HIV/AIDS “the defining health challenge of our time.”

25 November 2009 Presidential Proclamation on World AIDS Day