World AIDS Day, December 1, 2013
“The number of new HIV infections has declined by 42% in the Caribbean,” says Mr. John Dinkelman, U.S. Chargé d’Affaires, “and the U.S. Government investment in the PEPFAR program has helped to support that decline.”
The U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) is the largest effort by any nation to combat a single disease. PEPFAR, which began in 2003 as an emergency response to AIDS in low-resource settings, is now focused on advancing the sustainability of the response.
Recently, the PEPFAR Program was re-authorized by U.S. Congress through September 2018.
The global community has made groundbreaking progress in saving lives through HIV prevention, treatment, and care services. PEPFAR is proud to support partner countries as they assume growing leadership of their fight against HIV/AIDS in the Caribbean Region.
Working together, we must build on our successes to save even more lives and meet our shared responsibility in order to achieve the goal of an AIDS-free generation. The PEPFAR Caribbean Region Partnership Framework is a five-year strategy implemented in Barbados and the OECS, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Suriname, and the Bahamas.
The annual budget for the PEPFAR Caribbean Region program is $23 million (US). The program focuses on prevention interventions for key populations and supporting sustainable national programs, through support to Ministries of Health and National AIDS Programs and Civil Society Organizations. PEPFAR also supports bi-lateral programs in Haiti, the Dominican Republic and Guyana.
Annually, PEPFAR reports on results achieved by its programs across the range of prevention, treatment and care programs.
- PEPFAR directly supported life-saving antiretroviral treatment for more than 3.9 million men, women and children worldwide as of September 30, 2011.
- PEPFAR directly supported HIV testing and counseling for more than 9.8 million pregnant women in fiscal year 2011. PEPFAR supported antiretroviral drug prophylaxis to prevent mother-to-child transmission for more than 660,000 of these women who tested positive for HIV, allowing approximately 200,000 infants to be born HIV-free.
- PEPFAR directly supported nearly 13 million people with care and support, including more than 4.1 million orphans and vulnerable children, in fiscal year 2011.
- PEPFAR directly supported HIV counseling and testing for more than 40 million people in fiscal year 2011, providing a critical entry point to prevention, treatment, and care.
- The U.S. is the first and largest donor to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. To date, the U.S. has provided more than $5.8 billion to the Fund. Of the estimated 6.6 million individuals in low- and middle-income countries who currently receive treatment, nearly 5.6 million receive support through PEPFAR bilateral programs, the Global Fund, or both.
On World AIDS Day, as we honor all people living with HIV/AIDS, let us also recognize the health workers, scientists, and community members who have committed their lives to eradicating AIDS from our world. Let us all join them in seizing this opportunity and renewing our efforts to reach the goal of an AIDS-free generation.
Locally, PEPFAR partners with the Ministry of Health, HIV/AIDS Centre, The Bahamas AIDS Foundation, Red Cross Society of The Bahamas, Bahamas United Limited, Bahamas Urban Youth and Development and several other Civil Society Organizations to strengthen laboratory capacity, promote free HIV/AIDS testing and reach most at-risk populations.
U.S. Embassy, Nassau
