What is President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR)?
The President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, announced in 2003 by President Bush, is housed in the US State Department and directs US government funds to implement AIDS relief in key HIV-infected countries. The primary departments and agencies of the US government committed to this implementation include the Departments of State, Defense, Health and Human Services, Commerce, and Labor; the U.S. Agency for International Development; the Peace Corps, and Census Bureau.
PEPFAR will provide US$15 billion over a five-year period and work with world leaders to fight HIV/AIDS, promoting integrated prevention, treatment and care interventions with a focus on the most afflicted countries. PEPFAR therefore includes a strong focus on provision of care and treatment as well as prevention. The Global Fund for AIDS, TB and Malaria will receive $1 billion of the PEPFAR funding. The U.S. contribution to the Global Fund is considered part of PEPFAR. PEPFAR aims to:
- Prevent 7 million new infections (60 percent of the projected new infections in the target countries)
- Treat 2 million HIV-infected people
- Care for 10 million HIV-infected individuals and AIDS orphans
While the US government will continue to provide HIV/AIDS relief throughout the world, PEPFAR focuses specifically on countries with the highest prevalence of HIV infection in Africa, the Caribbean and Asia.
How does PEPFAR work?
The U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator in Washington, DC reviews and approves strategic plans, coordinates all US response in countries, and provides policy advice to partners on achieving the PEPFAR targets. The U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator is based in the State Department and is answerable directly to the U.S. Secretary of State. The US government team in each country is led by the Ambassador, and includes partners in different roles: CDC (surveillance, ART); USAID (health system strengthening, prevention, home-based care); DoHHS (health information systems); and the State Department (primarily administrative support).
A strategic planning exercise—which aims to involve all relevant government entities, host country governments, NGOs, the private sector, multilateral institutions and other stakeholders— develops the Country Operating Plan (COP). This five-year country strategy is the plan for strengthening of the quality, availability, and sustainability of prevention, treatment and care services and is also used for reporting back to PEPFAR. The COP is submitted via the Ambassador to the Office of the Global AIDS Coordinator (OGAC).
OGAC reviews and may approve the COP, at which point, depending on the country context, funds are obligated directly to cooperating agencies or through USAID/CDC/DoHHS and then to cooperating agencies. The Ambassador directs how funds will be spent. Implementation partners including NGOs, faith based organizations, and private contractors use these funds to build on existing health infrastructure and programs.
What donors and other global partners contribute to, or play a major role in PEPFAR?
The U.S. State Department has partnered with USAID, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, CDC, non-governmental organizations, faith-based groups, and willing host governments to implement program activities in the most effective manner.
What countries does PEPFAR support?
Currently, 15 countries have been selected by the U.S. Government to receive PEPFAR funding: Botswana, Cote d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Guyana, Haiti, Kenya, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Vietnam and Zambia.
What are good sources of information about PEPFAR?
The President’s Emergency Fund for AIDS Relief Fact Sheet
PEPFAR Annual Report
International AIDS Charity AVERT- PEPFAR