U.S. fund to fight HIV/AIDS widely acclaimed
Under threat from conservative Republicans
Criminalisation of LGBTQ+ people hampers fight
By Sadiya Ansari
TORONTO, Nov 30 (Openly) – In the 20 years since U.S. President George W. Bush launched the world’s biggest investment to fight HIV/AIDS, the fund has had a “dramatic and life-saving impact”, UNAIDS U.S. liaison office director Vinay Saldhana told Openly.
The U.S. government says it has invested more than $110 billion through the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, and saved 25 million lives and prevented millions of HIV infections.
But the programme is now under threat after Congress in October renewed its funding for only one year, instead of the usual five.
What prompted the investment?
When PEPFAR was introduced in 2003, 40 million people were living with HIV/AIDS globally, and 20 million had already died from the virus, according to UNAIDS.
In sub-Saharan Africa, where two-thirds of cases were found, infection rates were “rampant”, the United Nations 2003 AIDS Epidemic Update said.
PEPFAR was introduced as a five-year funding programme in 12 African and two Caribbean countries with the goal of providing antiretroviral treatment (ART) to 2 million people living with HIV/AIDS, preventing more infections and providing care for 10 million children and vulnerable people.
What countries is PEPFAR active in?
PEPFAR now operates in 55 countries, having expanded into Asia, South America and eastern Europe.
Now, those 55 countries, Saldhana said, are “the furthest ahead in the global response to HIV.
The post World AIDS Day: What impact has 20 years of U.S. funding had on HIV/AIDS appeared first on GAY TIMES.
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