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 Home > News & Policies > December 2008

For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
December 1, 2008

Fact Sheet: World AIDS Day 2008
President And Mrs. Bush Have Taken Unprecedented Action In The Fight Against Global HIV/AIDS, With PEPFAR Supporting Lifesaving Antiretroviral Treatment For More Than 2.1 Million People

     Fact sheet President Bush Discusses World AIDS Day
     Fact sheet In Focus: HIV/AIDS

Today, President and Mrs. Bush marked World AIDS Day 2008 with Pastor Rick Warren at the Newseum and discussed the success of this Administration's global HIV/AIDS initiative.  President and Mrs. Bush have made a historic commitment to the fight against global HIV/AIDS.  Since 2001, the Administration has delivered more than $148 billion to fight HIV/AIDS both at home and abroad.  Once again, this year, the White House will display the red ribbon on the North Portico to represent the continued battle against HIV/AIDS and to affirm the matchless value of every human life.

The United States Is Helping To Turn The Tide Against Global HIV/AIDS

The President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) is the largest commitment by any nation to combat a single disease in human history.  When the President launched this initiative in 2003, approximately 50,000 people in all of sub-Saharan Africa were receiving anti-retroviral treatment. 

  • Ahead of schedule, the United States has fulfilled the President's commitment to support treatment for two million people.  As of September 30, 2008, PEPFAR supported life-saving antiretroviral treatment for more than 2.1 million men, women, and children living with HIV/AIDS around the world, including more than 2 million people in sub-Saharan Africa.
  • As of September 30, 2008, nearly 9.7 million people affected by HIV/AIDS in PEPFAR's focus countries had received compassionate care, including nearly 4 million orphans and vulnerable children.  Globally, the United States is supporting care for more than 10.1 million people, including more than 4 million orphans and vulnerable children.
  • Nearly 240,000 babies have been born HIV-free due to the support of the American people for programs to prevent mothers from passing the virus on to their children.
  • In July, President Bush signed into law H.R. 5501, the Tom Lantos and Henry J. Hyde United States Global Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Reauthorization Act.  This legislation will expand access to lifesaving antiretroviral drugs, prevent millions of new HIV infections, and provide compassionate care to millions of people affected by HIV/AIDS.  Under this legislation, the next phase of the American people's generous commitment to those suffering from HIV/AIDS will support:
    • Treatment for at least 3 million people;
    • Prevention of 12 million new infections; and
    • Care for 12 million people, including 5 million orphans and vulnerable children.

Faith-based and community organizations are important partners in the implementation of PEPFAR, the President's Malaria Initiative, and other U.S.-funded efforts.  President Bush's Faith-based and Community Initiative empowers these organizations so that they can help create an effective, multi-sectoral response to need.  Faith-based and community organizations are uniquely positioned to promote HIV/AIDS stigma-reduction and prevention messages and provide counseling and testing, home care, clinical services, and antiretroviral treatment, particularly in some of the hardest-to-reach communities.  Last year, 87 percent of PEPFAR partners were indigenous organizations, and nearly a quarter were faith-based. 

PEPFAR supports a comprehensive prevention portfolio. In addition to the balanced, evidenced-based ABC (Abstain, Be faithful, and correct and consistent use of Condoms) approach, the United States also supports programs that address mother-to-child transmission, blood safety and safe medical injections, male circumcision, injecting drug users, HIV-discordant couples, alcohol abuse, and other key issues.

In 2008, President and Mrs. Bush traveled to Africa, where they witnessed the effectiveness of PEPFAR firsthand.  At the Amana District Hospital in Tanzania, met with patients and saw the hope this program has given them, in addition to visiting with doctors, nurses, and caregivers of many faiths and backgrounds working to make a difference in the lives of their fellow citizens.

In 2007 G-8 leaders made a commitment to complement U.S. efforts so that together G-8 nations will support treatment for a total of five million people, prevent 24 million new infections, and care for 24 million people, including 10 million orphans and vulnerable children.

The United States is also working through multilateral organizations in the global fight against HIV/AIDS.  The United States is the largest contributor to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria, providing more than $3.3 billion since 2001. 

Mrs. Bush has focused domestic and international attention on PEPFAR.  Mrs. Bush has visited 10 of the 15 PEPFAR focus countries.  In addition, she emphasizes the link between improved education and disease prevention in nations around the world. 

Here At Home, The Administration Is Dedicated To Helping The More Than One Million Americans Living With HIV/AIDS

The Administration has worked to address the needs of people living with HIV/AIDS and to prevent new HIV infections within the United States.  Approximately one in five people living with HIV – 21 percent – are unaware of their infection. 

  • Since 2001, the Administration has devoted more than $99 billion to treatment and care for people living with HIV/AIDS in the United States, increasing annual treatment funding by 40 percent.  In addition, the Administration has devoted more than $20 billion to domestic HIV/AIDS research to help develop new methods of treatment and prevention, increasing research funding by 21 percent during this same time period.

The Administration has successfully implemented the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Treatment Modernization Act, in order to help ensure that AIDS patients can receive treatment, including lifesaving drugs.  Since the 2006 reauthorization of the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Treatment Modernization Act, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is better targeting Federal resources to assist areas with the greatest needs. 

  • The Ryan White AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP) provided lifesaving HIV/AIDS medications to more than 157,000 people and helped provide more than two million outpatient health care visits in 2006. 

President Bush supported voluntary HIV tests becoming a routine part of care so all Americans could know their status.  The President's 2009 budget requested $93 million for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) HIV Testing Initiative that focuses on areas of populations with the highest burden of disease.

President Bush has encouraged State and local HIV prevention efforts and outreach to high-risk populations.  The number of HIV/AIDS cases is especially high in the African American, Hispanic, and gay communities, as well as among injecting drug users and prisoners.  The Targeted Capacity Expansion Program for Substance Abuse Treatment and HIV/AIDS Services grants support providers across the United States in traditionally underserved communities.

  • The CDC continues to work in partnership with State and local health departments, national and regional organizations, and community-based organizations, supporting a wide range of science-based activities to monitor the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the United States and increase effective HIV prevention programs for persons living with HIV and at risk for HIV infection.

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