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. [1] 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.
Following the inauguration of President Trump on January 20, 2017, the website for the Office of National AIDS Policy became inaccessible and it was reported the office was closed with the departure of the previous director, Amy Lansky, with no clear plans if or when President Trump planned to reopen it. [2] In June 2017, six members of the council filed letters of resignation, [3] citing that above all things the current administration "...simply does not care..." about the HIV/AIDS situation in the United States. [4]
The Office of National AIDS Policy is part of the White House Domestic Policy Council and is tasked with coordinating the continuing efforts of the government to reduce the number of HIV infections across the United States. The office emphasizes prevention through wide-ranging education initiatives and helps to coordinate the care and treatment of citizens with HIV/AIDS.[ citation needed ]
The Office of National AIDS Policy also coordinates with the National Security Council and the Office of the Global AIDS Coordinator at the Department of State, and works with international bodies to ensure that America's response to the global pandemic is fully integrated with other prevention, care, and treatment efforts around the world. Through the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) initiative, the U.S. has taken steps in responding to the global HIV/AIDS pandemic, working with countries heavily impacted by HIV/AIDS to help expand access to treatment, care, and prevention. [5]
In July 2010, President Obama released the National HIV/AIDS Strategy for the United States, the first comprehensive strategy to achieve a coordinated response to domestic HIV. The National HIV/AIDS Strategy sought to reduce the number of new infections in the United States, improve health outcomes for people living with HIV, and reduce HIV-related disparities by coordinating the response across Federal agencies. The strategy was implemented across U.S. departments and agencies, including the Department Health and Human Services, Department of Justice, Department of Labor, Housing and Urban Development, and Department of Veterans Affairs. The strategy had four main goals:[ citation needed ]
No. | Image | Name | Took office | Left office | President(s) | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
– | Kristine M. Gebbie (AIDS Policy Coordinator) | June 25, 1993 | August 2, 1994 | Bill Clinton | ||
1 | Patricia "Patsy" S. Fleming | August 2, 1994 (acting) November 10, 1994 (official) | February 1997 | |||
– | Eric P. Goosby, MD (acting) | February 1997 | April 7, 1997 | |||
2 | Sandra L. Thurman, MA | April 7, 1997 | January 20, 2001 | |||
3 | Scott H. Evertz | April 9, 2001 | July 19, 2002 | George W. Bush | ||
4 | Joseph O'Neill, MD, MS, MPH | July 19, 2002 | August 2003 | |||
5 | Carol Thompson | August 2003 (acting) May 12, 2004 (official) | February 10, 2006 | |||
6 | Jeffrey Crowley, MPH | February 26, 2009 | December 20, 2011 | Barack Obama | ||
7 | Grant Colfax, MD | March 14, 2012 | January 13, 2014 | |||
8 | Douglas M. Brooks, MSW | March 24, 2014 | March 24, 2016 | |||
9 | Amy Lansky, PhD, MPH | March 25, 2016 | January 4, 2017 | |||
10 | Harold J. Phillips, MRP | June 7, 2021 | Incumbent | Joe Biden | ||
The AIDS epidemic, caused by HIV, found its way to the United States between the 1970s and 1980s, but was first noticed after doctors discovered clusters of Kaposi's sarcoma and pneumocystis pneumonia in homosexual men in Los Angeles, New York City, and San Francisco in 1981. Treatment of HIV/AIDS is primarily via the use of multiple antiretroviral drugs, and education programs to help people avoid infection.
The Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS (PACHA) advises the White House and the Secretary of Health and Human Services on the US government's response to the AIDS epidemic. The commission was formed by President Bill Clinton in 1995 and each president since has renewed the council's charter.
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 People's Republic of China's first reported AIDS case was identified in 1985 in a dying tourist. In 1989, the first indigenous cases were reported as an outbreak in 146 infected heroin users in Yunnan province, near China's southwest border.
Since the first HIV/AIDS case in the Lao People's Democratic Republic (PDR) was identified in 1990, the number of infections has continued to grow. In 2005, UNAIDS estimated that 3,700 people in Lao PDR were living with HIV.
Like other countries worldwide, HIV/AIDS is present in Ghana. As of 2014, an estimated 150,000 people infected with the virus. HIV prevalence is at 1.37 percent in 2014 and is highest in the Eastern Region of Ghana and lowest in the northern regions of the country. In response to the epidemic, the government has established the Ghana AIDS Commission which coordinates efforts amongst NGO's, international organizations and other parties to support the education about and treatment of aids throughout Ghana and alleviating HIV/AIDS issues in Ghana.
As of 2012, approximately 1,100,000 people in Malawi are HIV-positive, which represents 10.8% of the country's population. Because the Malawian government was initially slow to respond to the epidemic under the leadership of Hastings Banda (1966–1994), the prevalence of HIV/AIDS increased drastically between 1985, when the disease was first identified in Malawi, and 1993, when HIV prevalence rates were estimated to be as high as 30% among pregnant women. The Malawian food crisis in 2002 resulted, at least in part, from a loss of agricultural productivity due to the prevalence of HIV/AIDS. Various degrees of government involvement under the leadership of Bakili Muluzi (1994–2004) and Bingu wa Mutharika (2004–2012) resulted in a gradual decline in HIV prevalence, and, in 2003, many people living in Malawi gained access to antiretroviral therapy. Condoms have become more widely available to the public through non-governmental organizations, and more Malawians are taking advantage of HIV testing services.
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.
Rwanda faces a generalized epidemic, with an HIV prevalence rate of 3.1 percent among adults ages 15 to 49. The prevalence rate has remained relatively stable, with an overall decline since the late 1990s, partly due to improved HIV surveillance methodology. In general, HIV prevalence is higher in urban areas than in rural areas, and women are at higher risk of HIV infection than men. Young women ages 15 to 24 are twice as likely to be infected with HIV as young men in the same age group. Populations at higher risk of HIV infection include people in prostitution and men attending clinics for sexually transmitted infections.
UNAIDS has said that HIV/AIDS in Indonesia is one of Asia's fastest growing epidemics. In 2010, it is expected that 5 million Indonesians will have HIV/AIDS. In 2007, Indonesia was ranked 99th in the world by prevalence rate, but because of low understanding of the symptoms of the disease and high social stigma attached to it, only 5-10% of HIV/AIDS sufferers actually get diagnosed and treated. According to the a census conducted in 2019, it is counted that 640,443 people in the country are living with HIV. The adult prevalence for HIV/ AIDS in the country is 0.4%. Indonesia is the country is Southeast Asia to have the most number of recorded people living with HIV while Thailand has the highest adult prevalence.
Since HIV/AIDS was first reported in Thailand in 1984, 1,115,415 adults had been infected as of 2008, with 585,830 having died since 1984. 532,522 Thais were living with HIV/AIDS in 2008. In 2009 the adult prevalence of HIV was 1.3%. As of 2016, Thailand had the highest prevalence of HIV in Southeast Asia at 1.1 percent, the 40th highest prevalence of 109 nations.
Cases of HIV/AIDS in Peru are considered to have reached the level of a concentrated epidemic.
The Dominican Republic has a 0.7 percent prevalence rate of HIV/AIDS, among the lowest percentage-wise in the Caribbean region. However, it has the second most cases in the Caribbean region in total, with an estimated 46,000 HIV/AIDS-positive Dominicans as of 2013.
HIV/AIDS in Jamaica has a 1.5 percent prevalence of the adult population estimated to be HIV-positive. There has been no significant change over the last five years and therefore Jamaica appears to have stabilized its HIV/AIDS epidemic.
In 2016, the prevalence rate of HIV/AIDS in adults aged 15–49 was 0.3%, relatively low for a developing country. This low prevalence has been maintained, as in 2006, the HIV prevalence in Mexico was estimated at around 0.3% as well. The infected population is remains mainly concentrated among high risk populations, men who have sex with other men, intravenous drug users, and commercial sex workers. This low national prevalence is not reflected in the high-risk populations. The prison population in Mexico, faces a fairly similar low rate of around 0.7%. Among the population of prisoners, around 2% are known to be infected with HIV. Sex workers, male and female, face an HIV prevalence of around 7%. Identifying gay men and men who have sex with other men have a prevalence of 17.4%. The highest risk-factor group is identifying transgender people; about 17.4% of this population is known to be infected with HIV. Around 90% of new infections occur by sex-related methods of transmission. Of these known infected populations, around 60% of living infected people are known to be on anti-retroviral therapy (ART).
With 1.28 percent of the adult population estimated by UNAIDS to be HIV-positive in 2006, Papua New Guinea has one of the most serious HIV/AIDS epidemics in the Asia-Pacific subregion. Although this new prevalence rate is significantly lower than the 2005 UNAIDS estimate of 1.8 percent, it is considered to reflect improvements in surveillance rather than a shrinking epidemic. Papua New Guinea accounts for 70 percent of the subregion's HIV cases and is the fourth country after Thailand, Cambodia, and Burma to be classified as having a generalized HIV epidemic.
Deborah Leah Birx is an American physician and diplomat who served as the White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator under President Donald Trump from 2020 to 2021. Birx specializes in HIV/AIDS immunology, vaccine research, and global health. Starting in 2014, she oversaw the implementation of the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) program to support HIV/AIDS treatment and prevention programs in 65 countries. From 2014-2020, Birx was the United States global AIDS coordinator for presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump and served as the United States special representative for global health diplomacy between 2015 and 2021. Birx was part of the White House Coronavirus Task Force from February 2020 to January 2021. In March 2021, Birx joined ActivePure Technology as Chief Medical and Science Advisor.
HIV/AIDS is a significant public health issue in South Sudan, a landlocked country located in East-Central Africa. The nation faces several challenges in controlling the spread of HIV, with particular regions experiencing higher prevalence rates. This article provides an overview of HIV in South Sudan, highlights areas with the highest HIV prevalence, examines the background of the epidemic in the country, and explores initiatives working to combat the disease.