The United States President's Emergency Plan For AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) is a United States governmental initiative to address the global HIV/AIDS epidemic and help save the lives of those suffering from the disease. Launched by U.S. President George W. Bush in 2003,as of May 2020,PEPFAR has provided about $90 billion in cumulative funding for HIV/AIDS treatment,prevention,and research since its inception,making it the largest global health program focused on a single disease in history until the COVID-19 pandemic. PEPFAR is implemented by a combination of U.S. government agencies in over 50 countries and overseen by the Global AIDS Coordinator at the United States Department of State. As of 2023,PEPFAR has saved over 25 million lives,primarily in sub-Saharan Africa.
The Global AIDS Coordinator at the United States Department of State is the official responsible for overseeing U.S.-sponsored humanitarian aid programs to combat the AIDS epidemic around the world. The Global AIDS Coordinator holds the rank of Ambassador-at-Large and Assistant Secretary.
The Office of National AIDS Policy,established under President Clinton in 1993,coordinates the continuing domestic efforts to implement the President's National HIV/AIDS Strategy. In addition,the office works to coordinate an increasingly integrated approach to the prevention,care and treatment of HIV/AIDS. As a unit of the Domestic Policy Council,the Office of National AIDS Policy coordinates with other White House offices. It is led by a director,who is appointed by the president.
Mozambique is a country particularly hard-hit by the HIV/AIDS epidemic. According to 2008 UNAIDS estimates,this southeast African nation has the 8th highest HIV rate in the world. With 1,600,000 Mozambicans living with HIV,990,000 of which are women and children,Mozambique's government realizes that much work must be done to eradicate this infectious disease. To reduce HIV/AIDS within the country,Mozambique has partnered with numerous global organizations to provide its citizens with augmented access to antiretroviral therapy and prevention techniques,such as condom use. A surge toward the treatment and prevention of HIV/AIDS in women and children has additionally aided in Mozambique's aim to fulfill its Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Nevertheless,HIV/AIDS has made a drastic impact on Mozambique;individual risk behaviors are still greatly influenced by social norms,and much still needs to be done to address the epidemic and provide care and treatment to those in need.
HIV and AIDS is a major public health issue in Zimbabwe. The country is reported to hold one of the largest recorded numbers of cases in Sub-Saharan Africa. According to reports,the virus has been present in the country since roughly 40 years ago. However,evidence suggests that the spread of the virus may have occurred earlier. In recent years,the government has agreed to take action and implement treatment target strategies in order to address the prevalence of cases in the epidemic. Notable progress has been made as increasingly more individuals are being made aware of their HIV/AIDS status,receiving treatment,and reporting high rates of viral suppression. As a result of this,country progress reports show that the epidemic is on the decline and is beginning to reach a plateau. International organizations and the national government have connected this impact to the result of increased condom usage in the population,a reduced number of sexual partners,as well as an increased knowledge and support system through successful implementation of treatment strategies by the government. Vulnerable populations disproportionately impacted by HIV/AIDS in Zimbabwe include women and children,sex workers,and the LGBTQ+ population.
Cases of HIV/AIDS in Peru are considered to have reached the level of a concentrated epidemic.
ICAP at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health supports programs and research that address HIV/AIDS and related conditions and works to strengthen health systems. ICAP currently supports HIV/AIDS prevention,care and treatment programs in 19 African countries including:Angola,Cameroon,Côte d'Ivoire,Democratic Republic of Congo,Ethiopia,Kenya,Lesotho,Malawi,Mali,Mozambique,Namibia,Sierra Leone,South Africa,South Sudan,Swaziland,Tanzania,Uganda,Zambia,and Zimbabwe. It also works in Central Asia,Ukraine,Georgia,Myanmar,Brazil,Guatemala,China,Jordan,Lebanon,and Turkey. ICAP supports several hundred project sites,which provide HIV prevention,care and treatment to hundreds of thousands of individuals.
Global Health Initiatives (GHIs) are humanitarian initiatives that raise and disburse additional funds for infectious diseases –such as AIDS,tuberculosis,and malaria –for immunizations and for strengthening health systems in developing countries. GHIs classify a type of global initiative,which is defined as an organized effort integrating the involvement of organizations,individuals,and stakeholders around the world to address a global issue.
The XVIII International AIDS Conference was held in Vienna,Austria from July 18–23,2010.
Paul A. Volberding is an American physician who is best known for his pioneering work in treating people with HIV.
HIV in pregnancy is the presence of an HIV/AIDS infection in a woman while she is pregnant. There is a risk of HIV transmission from mother to child in three primary situations:pregnancy,childbirth,and while breastfeeding. This topic is important because the risk of viral transmission can be significantly reduced with appropriate medical intervention,and without treatment HIV/AIDS can cause significant illness and death in both the mother and child. This is exemplified by data from The Centers for Disease Control (CDC):In the United States and Puerto Rico between the years of 2014–2017,where prenatal care is generally accessible,there were 10,257 infants in the United States and Puerto Rico who were exposed to a maternal HIV infection in utero who did not become infected and 244 exposed infants who did become infected.
Treatment as prevention (TasP) is a concept in public health that promotes treatment as a way to prevent and reduce the likelihood of HIV illness,death and transmission from an infected individual to others. Expanding access to earlier HIV diagnosis and treatment as a means to address the global epidemic by preventing illness,death and transmission was first proposed in 2000 by Garnett et al. The term is often used to talk about treating people that are currently living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) to prevent illness,death and transmission. Although some experts narrow this to only include preventing infections,treatment prevents illnesses such as tuberculosis and has been shown to prevent death. In relation to HIV,antiretroviral therapy (ART) is a three or more drug combination therapy that is used to decrease the viral load,or the measured amount of virus,in an infected individual. Such medications are used as a preventative for infected individuals to not only spread the HIV virus to their negative partners but also improve their current health to increase their lifespans. When taken correctly,ART is able to diminish the presence of the HIV virus in the bodily fluids of an infected person to a level of undetectability. Consistent adherence to an ARV regimen,monitoring,and testing are essential for continued confirmed viral suppression. Treatment as prevention rose to great prominence in 2011,as part of the HPTN 052 study,which shed light on the benefits of early treatment for HIV positive individuals.
Dr. Debrework Zewdie,former director of the World Bank Global AIDS Program and Deputy Executive Director and COO of the Global Fund,is an Ethiopian national who has led strategy,policy implementation,and management of development programs at country,regional,and global levels for international bodies such as the World Bank and The Global Fund to Fight AIDS,Tuberculosis and Malaria. As an immunologist,she conceptualized and managed the groundbreaking US$1 billion Multi-country HIV/AIDS Program that changed the AIDS funding landscape and pioneered the large-scale multi-sectorial response with direct financing to civil society and the private sector. Dr. Zewdie led the articulation of the World Bank's first global strategy on HIV/AIDS and the Global HIV/AIDS Program of Action. As a founding UNAIDS Global Coordinator,she has been instrumental in making the unique cooperative structure of the UNAIDS family a working reality,fostering strong inter-agency partnerships. She is an advocate for women's health and was a founding vice president and member of the Society for Women and AIDS in Africa (SWAA). She established institutional rigor at the Global Fund and led its wide-ranging internal reform which culminated in the ongoing corporate transformation program. Dr. Zewdie has a Ph.D. in clinical immunology from the University of London,a postdoctoral fellowship at SYVA Company,and was a Senior MacArthur Fellow at the Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies. Dr. Zewdie was a Richard L. and Ronay A. Menschel Senior Leadership Fellow at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in 2015. During her Fellowship at the Harvard Chan School,she also participated as a speaker on Voices in Leadership,an original webcast series,in a discussion titled,"Leadership in Getting AIDS on the World Bank Agenda",moderated by Dr. Barry Bloom.
Robert Michael Hecht is an American global health policy and financing expert. Hecht is currently Founder and President of Pharos Global Health Advisors. He has previously held positions with the World Bank,UNAIDS,the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative,and Results for Development Institute. He serves as a lecturer at Yale University’s Jackson Institute for Global Affairs and is a clinical professor at the Yale School of Public Health. He has published on a range of topics in global health and development,with a special focus on the economics,financing,and policies for infectious diseases,nutrition,and broader health system reform. He has been an advisor to the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR),the World Health Organization,and UNITAID. Hecht holds a BA from Yale and a PhD from Cambridge University.
Cissy Kityo Mutuluuza,is a Ugandan physician,epidemiologist and medical researcher. She is the Executive Director of the Joint Clinical Research Centre,a government-owned medical research institution in Uganda,specializing in HIV/AIDS treatment and management.
American International Health Alliance (AIHA) is a nonprofit organisation aiming for assisting the global health. The organisation has managed more than 175 partnerships and project across the globe. In 2012,AIHA obtained the support of President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief [PEPFAR] project to strengthen the blood service in Central Asia,Ukraine,and Cambodia. Due to its structure based on the programmatic modal and dynamic condition,this organisation is suitable to assist the community or worldwide countries which have limited resources,and it is beneficial for sustainable evolution. AIHA is contributing to improve the worldwide health conditions. This organisation has been associated and largely contributed in the HIV-related area since 2000.
Diane Havlir is an American physician who is a Professor of Medicine and Chief of the HIV/AIDS Division at the University of California,San Francisco. Her research considers novel therapeutic strategies to improve the lives of people with HIV and to support public health initiatives in East Africa. She was elected to the National Academy of Medicine in 2019.
Monica Gandhi is an American physician and professor. She teaches medicine at the University of California,San Francisco (UCSF) and is director of the UCSF Gladstone Center for AIDS Research and the medical director of the San Francisco General Hospital HIV Clinic,Ward 86. Her research considers HIV prevalence in women,as well as HIV treatment and prevention. She has been noted as a critic of some aspects of the COVID-19 lockdowns in the US.
Helen L. Smits was a health policy influencer and advocate in the United States,and lent her voice to several healthcare initiatives abroad. Most notably,she was a recipient of the Fulbright scholarship and served under the Carter and Clinton administrations. She also held positions in government organizations including the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Healthcare Financing Administration.
