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Leading The Worldwide Fight Against HIV/AIDS

      2007 State of the Union Policy Initiatives
      In Focus: HIV/AIDS Initiatives
     

Tonight, President Bush Will Discuss How The President's Emergency Plan For AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) Is Meeting His Commitment Of $15 Billion Over Five Years To Support Treatment For 2 Million People, Prevention Of 7 Million New Infections, And Care For 10 Million People. PEPFAR is the largest international health initiative in history dedicated to a single disease. PEPFAR works worldwide, but targets 15 focus countries that are home to approximately half of the world's 39 million HIV-positive people: Botswana, Cote d'Ivoire, Ethiopia, Guyana, Haiti, Kenya, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Vietnam, and Zambia.

Since First Providing Antiretroviral Treatment In January 2004, PEPFAR Has Supported This Life-Saving Treatment For Approximately 822,000 People Living With HIV/AIDS. This is taking place through bilateral programs in PEPFAR's 15 focus countries in sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean. Of the 822,000 individuals receiving treatment through PEPFAR, 61 percent are women and 9 percent are children age 14 and under.

• PEPFAR Is Supporting The Leadership Of Local Communities. PEPFAR works with partners in host nations to build local capacity in order to sustain prevention, treatment, and care efforts long after the initial five years of the Emergency Plan. Over 80 percent of PEPFAR partners are indigenous organizations.

• PEPFAR Is Supporting Innovative Partnerships To Train Local Health Care Professionals. For example, a PEPFAR initiative launched in May 2006 places health care professionals from the Ethiopian Diaspora community in volunteer assignments in Ethiopia to train and work side-by-side with Ethiopian counterparts. This initiative will use a new database to identify qualified professionals from the Diaspora to help Ethiopia's HIV/AIDS campaign.

• PEPFAR's New Partner Initiative (NPI) Has Awarded Its First Round Of Grants For HIV/AIDS Prevention And Care. President Bush launched the $200 million New Partners Initiative on World AIDS Day 2005. On World AIDS Day 2006, the first round of 23 grants was awarded to organizations in the U.S. and Africa for up to $72 million over three years. These organizations will work in 13 of PEPFAR's 15 focus countries.

• The NPI Is Identifying And Supporting Organizations Providing Health Care In The Developing World, Including Faith-Based And Community Organizations, To Achieve Local Ownership And Long-Term Sustainability.

The U.S. Supports The Most Diverse Prevention Portfolio Of Any International Partner. In addition to the ABC (Abstain, Be faithful, and the correct and consistent use of Condoms) approach, the U.S. supports programs that focus on prevention of mother-to-child transmission, on blood safety and safe medical injections, on injecting drug users, on HIV-discordant couples, on alcohol abuse, and on other key issues, including gender-specific programs.

• The U.S. Leads The World In Its Support Of The Global Fund To Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, And Malaria. President Bush made the Fund's founding contribution, and the United States has pledged over $2 billion through 2008 – far more than any other nation.

The Administration Is Working To Help The 1 Million Americans Living With HIV/AIDS

The Administration Is Working To Address Americans Living With HIV/AIDS And To Prevent New HIV Infections. Of the approximately 40,000 new transmissions occurring annually in the United States, about half are spread by individuals unaware they are infecting others. The number of AIDS cases is especially high in the African-American, Hispanic, and gay communities, as well as among intravenous drug users and prisoners.

• The President And Mrs. Bush Have Called For HIV Tests To Become A Routine Part Of Care So All Americans Know Their Status. The HHS Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have released guidelines to physicians recommending routine voluntary HIV testing as a part of regular medical care for all people between the ages of 13-64, and annual screening for those at high risk.

• Between 2001 And 2006, The Administration Has Devoted More Than $74 Billion To Treatment And Care, Increasing Annual Treatment Funding By 37 Percent. In addition, the Administration has devoted more than $15 billion to HIV/AIDS research to help develop new methods of treatment and prevention, increasing annual research funding by 20 percent. The President’s 2007 Budget requested an additional $15 billion for HIV/ AIDS treatment and care and $3 billion more for research.

• The President's 2007 Budget Requested $93 Million To Purchase And Distribute Rapid HIV Test Kits That Will Facilitate Testing Of Approximately 3 Million Additional Americans. Of the approximately 1 million people infected with HIV, an estimated 250,000 are unaware they carry the virus. Rapid HIV test kits will be directed at communities with the highest rates of newly discovered HIV cases, including prisoners and intravenous drug users.

• In December 2006, President Bush Signed The Ryan White HIV/AIDS Treatment Modernization Act Of 2006 Into Law. This important legislation reauthorized the Ryan White CARE Act and provides life-saving and life-extending services to people living with HIV who would otherwise have little or no access to care. It also provides more flexibility to direct funding to areas of greater need, and expands resources for women, infants, and children with HIV/AIDS.

The President Has Directed The Secretary Of State To Request And The Secretary Of Homeland Security To Develop A Categorical Waiver For HIV-Positive People Seeking To Enter The United States On Short-Term Visas. The President considers the participation of people living with HIV/AIDS a critical element in the global HIV/AIDS response. A 1993 law prohibits HIV-positive people from receiving visas to visit the United States without a waiver. A categorical waiver would enable HIV-positive people to enter the United States for short visits through a streamlined process.

More Information On The Administration's International And Domestic Response To HIV/AIDS Is Available At: www.pepfar.gov and www.AIDS.gov.