Overview of the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief

"[T]o meet a severe and urgent crisis abroad, tonight I propose the Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief - a work of mercy beyond all current international efforts to help the people of Africa...I ask the Congress to commit $15 billion over the next five years, including nearly $10 billion in new money, to turn the tide against AIDS in the most afflicted nations of Africa and the Caribbean."

- President George W. Bush
January 28, 2003

OVERVIEW

The President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief is intended to:

• Prevent 7 million new HIV infections: The initiative will involve large-scale HIV prevention efforts, such as voluntary testing and counseling and behavior change that follows the “ABC” model (Abstinence, Be faithful, or use Condoms, in that priority). These and other prevention efforts are aimed at preventing 60% of the projected 12 million new infections in the 14 target countries. The availability of treatment will enhance prevention efforts by providing an incentive for individuals to be tested.
• Treat 2 million HIV-infected people: Capitalizing on recent advances in antiretroviral (ARV) therapies, this historic initiative will be the first global effort to provide advanced ARV treatment on a large scale in the poorest, most afflicted countries in Africa and the Caribbean.
• Care for 10 million HIV-infected individuals and AIDS orphans: The initiative will provide a range of care services, including support for AIDS orphans.

MANAGEMENT

• On July 2, 2003, President Bush announced his intent to nominate Randall Tobias, former chairman and CEO of Eli Lilly and former vice chairman of AT&T, to serve as Coordinator for International HIV/AIDS Assistance at the Department of State.
• Acting as the President’s representative, Mr. Tobias, who will have the rank of Ambassador, will be responsible for overseeing all U.S. international HIV/AIDS assistance and coordinating the efforts of the various agencies and departments that deliver it.
• Mr. Tobias will direct a new account at the State Department for funding HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment, and care activities carried out through the Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief.
• To implement the Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, Mr. Tobias will have the authority to act internationally, to transfer and allocate funds among executive branch agencies, and to contract with and provide grants to nongovernmental organizations, including faith-based and community-based organizations.

RESOURCES

• This 5-year, $15 billion (including almost $10 billion in new funds) initiative virtually triples the U.S. commitment to international AIDS assistance. The President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief is a sharply focused model of prevention, treatment, and care targeted to the regions of the world where the need for treatment is greatest. Of the new funding, $1 billion is for the Global Fund to Fight HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria.
• The remaining $5 billion will be spent to support HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria programs currently active in more than 50 countries.
• President Bush has made fighting the HIV/AIDS pandemic a priority of U.S. foreign policy. The U.S. is committed to a robust multi-faceted approach to combating the global HIV/AIDS pandemic through focused initiatives like the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, ongoing bilateral programs and multilateral approaches like the Global Fund.

FOCUS

• While the United States will continue to work throughout the world to combat HIV/AIDS, the Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief represents the first large-scale effort to integrate prevention, advanced antiretroviral treatment and care in the 14 countries most heavily impacted by the HIV/AIDS pandemic (Botswana, Cote d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Guyana, Haiti, Kenya, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia).
• These 14 countries account for nearly 20 million HIV-infected men, women, and children--almost 70% of the total in all of Africa and the Caribbean and 50% of global HIV infections.

IMPLEMENTATION

• The Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief will be implemented based on a "network model" that integrates prevention, treatment, and care activities through a layered network of central medical centers that support satellite centers and mobile units.
• Implementing the Emergency Plan includes such things as improving healthcare infrastructure, training healthcare workers, providing voluntary counseling and testing, encouraging awareness and behavior change, fighting stigma, administering medications, and a host of other activities needed to fight the pandemic.
• Federal departments and agencies that are carrying out existing bilateral programs will remain significantly involved as we begin work to implement the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief. New Federal partners may also be involved as their expertise is matched to an identified need.
• In addition to Federal agencies, a wide array of other partners will be utilized to implement the President’s initiative, including willing host governments; nongovernmental organizations, such as faith- and community-based groups; private corporations; donor and developing nations; and international organizations such as UNAIDS, UNICEF and WHO.

GLOBAL FUND TO FIGHT HIV/AIDS, TB, & MALARIA

• The United States was instrumental in launching the Global Fund to Fight HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria in 2001 and was the first country to pledge to the Fund. Secretary of Health and Human Services, Tommy Thompson, serves as the Global Fund’s current Chair of the Board.
• The United States is the world’s biggest investor in the Global Fund, contributing $623 million of the $1.47 billion, 42% of the total amount contributed to the Fund.