PEPFAR 7 Years On

Since it was launched in 2003, the Presidential Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief has made a serious dent in the number of people living with HIV/AIDS. At the 18th World AIDS Conference in Vienna this month, former US President Bill Clinton and Bill Gates praised the impact that PEPFAR has had on the fight against the disease. PEPFAR represents the largest effort by any nation to combat a single disease-a 2008 reauthorization act boosted the PEPFAR budget to over $48 billion for the 2008-2013 period. However, PEPFARs work is far from straight forward. I thought that a brief article on the specific aspects of their work would help make sure everyone is on the same page.

15 focus countries, the ones with the highest HIV/AIDS prevalence rates, receive the lions share of the PEPFAR funding. These countries include Botswana, Côte d'Ivoire, Ethiopia, Guyana, Haiti, Kenya, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Vietnam, and Zambia. The remaining money is either spent on AIDS research, given to prevention/treatment programs in other countries, or to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. The ABC and PMTCT methods are the main prevention programs sponsored by PEPFAR. The ABC approach stands for Abstinence, Be faithful to your partner, and the use of Condoms. The PMTCT intervention program stands for prevention of mother to child transmission (PEPFAR work in this method has prevented 16 million mother-to-child transmissions). When all is said and done, PEPFAR prevention programs have prevented an estimated 7 million new infections.

In 2009, there were 1.2 million people receiving life saving therapy for HIV/AIDS. In 2010, the WHO estimates that over 5.2 million people are receiving treatment, of which 2 million are supported by PEPFAR treatment programs. These programs include treating people for opportunistic infections, such as malaria and TB, paying for the personnel involved in administering the treatments( from the clinicians to the peer educators), updating medical facilities, and providing antiretroviral therapies. In addition, counseling is provided to help infected people with issues such as financial stability, with special attention being paid to orphans and vulnerable children.

PEPFAR is making a big difference in the fight against AIDS. Outside researchers estimate that PEPFAR programs have reduced the AIDS infection rate in focus countries by over 10%. However, continued support is necessary. Even though the number of people receiving treatment has gone up dramatically in the past year, nearly 85% of those infected are still not getting the help they need.

-Matthew Thwaites

SOURCES: About PEPFAR, "PEPFAR in Africa: An Evaluation of Outcomes"- Public Medical Journal, "Bill Clinton on HIV/AIDS: Much More Needs to be Done"-Voice of America

International AIDS conference highlights successes of fighting the disease

Today at the 18th edition of the International AIDS conference in Vienna, Austria, former President Bill Clinton and Bill Gates took to the stage to highlight the progress in the fight against the disease. Clinton urged that nations provide their foreign aid to efforts that directly benefit people suffering from the disease, emphasizing that smaller organizations can operate at a lower cost than the more well-established organizations. Bill Gates highlighted the effectiveness of known prevention methods, such as male circumcision and mother-to-child prevention measures. At the same time, however, Gates acknowledged that foreign aid was not only lower than in previous years, but inefficiencies diluted the effectiveness of the current supply of funds. Wealthier nations who provide the foreign aid are still recovering from the global economic recession, and consequently have less to give. Countries such as Zambia and Uganda have had some of their AIDS funding repealed due to issues like corruption.

However, numerous triumphs in the AIDS battle have been recently announced. The number of people on life saving HIV treatment rose from 1.2 million last year to 5.2 million this year- the largest ever single year increase in people being treated. This has happened even though donor funding has flat lined over the past 2 years. A UN report outlines a new international method for providing treatment to those living with HIV/AIDS that could save 10 million lives by 2025, and prevent 1 million new infections each year. Despite these successes, and numerous other proposed AIDS treatment methods, there were still over 30 million people living with the disease in 2008. And while the number of deaths from AIDS has decreased to 2 million per year from 2.2 million in 2008, there are still 2.7 million new infections every year.

-Matthew Thwaites

SOURCES: "Bill Clinton, Gates: Fight AIDS more efficiently"-AP News, "An Update From the International AIDS Conference in Vienna"-US State Department, "UN records massive rise in number of people receiving HIV treatment"-UN News
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6 month anniversary of earthquake in Haiti

Yesterday, millions around the world took a moment of silence to remember the earthquake that occurred 6 months ago in Haiti. The quake, which registered as a 7.0 on the Richter scale, lasted only 35 seconds but killed 230,000 people and left millions homeless. On this anniversary, American political leaders reaffirmed US commitment to not only help Haiti recover from the disaster, but to invest in the country's long term growth and prosperity. In a written statement issued yesterday, Secretary of State Hilary Clinton said that "We are committed to helping them realize the Haitian vision for a better nation." Bill Clinton, UN special envoy for Haiti, promised to continued working to get donors to honor their pledges for funding the Haiti recovery.

Widespread international outcry for support following the disaster resulted in a relatively large and efficient humanitarian response by more than 140 countries. Over 1.5 million Haitians are currently living in US built displacement camps. In one dramatic turn of events, more people now have access to safe drinking water than they did before the earthquake. Before the disaster, only half of Haiti's urban population had access to tap water, while many people had to purchase their water from street-side vendors. Humanitarian efforts have emphasized drilling bore holes and distributing 5 litres of water per person per day.

While the international response in the months following the quake have greatly helped Haiti recover, we must continue to support the humanitarian efforts. With time, it will become easier for people to forget the disaster. However, the long and arduous process of rebuilding the country must get underway, and that will take our continued support.

-Matthew Thwaites

SOURCES: 'Obama Administration marks 6-month Haitian Earthquake Anniversary'-Kaiser Family Foundation, 'Haiti: 6 Months After the Quake'-US State Department, 'An Update on Efforts in Haiti Six Months After the Quake'- US State Department

Two Bills in Favor of One Great Bill

This past Wednesday former President Bill Clinton and Microsoft mogul Bill Gates sat before the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee and testified in favor of Obama's Global Health Initiative. They both touched on what their respective foundations have done for poverty and health care in Haitian relief efforts and initiatives in Africa and Asia. Bill and Bill went on to discuss the GHI as "the next logical step" in reaching the Millennium Development Goals.

The GHI would allocate $9.5 Billion to global HIV/AIDS prevention, vital vaccinations, and scientific and technological R&D for the fiscal year 2011. Additionally, it calls for $63 Billion over the next six years to reform a new global health strategy. It is a legislative bill that is designed to wean developing nations off of foreign dependency.

The experience and expertise brought to the table by both of these advocates is unmatched. The energy and focus that led Gates to his success is now redirected toward global health, an area of which Gates is very knowledgeable. Combine this with the political experience that Clinton possesses to actually implement change and you have a powerful humanitarian team that would be difficult to say no to.

-Nick Mohazzabfar

Source: Talk News Radio Service & ZD Net