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The U.S. Government and Global HIV/AIDS Fact sheet released by the Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs, U.S. Department of State November 30, 2000

History
The U.S. Department of State has been actively concerned about the international HIV/AIDS issue for about 10 years and requested an analysis of the potential global impacts of the disease in 1991. This culminated in a report by the U.S. intelligence community published by the Department in 1992, which the State Department used to rally interagency discussion for a U.S. Government international strategy.

Largest Bilateral Donor
The U.S. Government is the largest bilateral donor of HIV/AIDS development assistance, investing over $1 billion in more than 75 developing countries during the past 10 years. In July 1999 the Administration proposed a $100 million Leadership and Investment in Fighting an Epidemic (LIFE) Initiative to fight AIDS around the world. LIFE focuses on 15 target countries with the most severe epidemics and the greatest number of new infections. An additional $100 million was appropriated in FY 2000 for a total of $225 million for global HIV/AIDS assistance. Congressional appropriations have not yet been finalized for all U.S. Government agencies, however, current appropriation levels for Fiscal Year 2001 indicate nearly $460 million will be appropriated for international assistance for HIV/AIDS programs. In 2000, President Clinton named Sandra L. Thurman the first Presidential Envoy for AIDS Cooperation (PEAC).

Funding
U.S. Government funding, approximately $225 million in 2000, accounted for nearly one-half of the multilateral and bilateral overseas development funding for HIV/AIDS.

On January 10, 2000, Vice President Gore chaired an open meeting of the United Nations Security Council on HIV/AIDS in Africa. It was the first time the Security Council had addressed a health issue. The Vice President announced that the Administration was seeking an additional $100 million in the FY-2001 budget for the prevention and treatment of AIDS in Africa, Asia and other areas of the world, bringing the total USG commitment to more than $325 million.

Diplomatic Initiative
In March 1999, the U.S. Department of State launched a diplomatic initiative on international HIV/AIDS to raise the profile of global HIV/AIDS and foster political commitment overseas to combat the disease. The initiative instructed U.S. ambassadors to encourage foreign leaders to increase the priority and resources in fighting HIV/AIDS. The State Department also works with international organizations, other governments, and the public and private sectors to draw greater attention and resources to the HIV/AIDS epidemic.

US/UN
During a July 17, 2000 meeting of the United Nations Security Council, the U.S. helped pass a resolution on HIV/AIDS and international peacekeeping operations, the first Security Council resolution dealing with a health issue.

USAID
The U.S. Government, through the U.S. Agency for International Development, provides approximately $15 million for UNAIDS (25% of its funding) in its efforts to coordinate UN agency activities to prevent HIV/AIDS. It also provides funds to the UN International Children's Emergency Fund, the World Health Organization, the UN Development Program, and other international organizations to address various aspects of the HIV/AIDS pandemic.

USAID funding has directly educated more than 25 million people about the risks of HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted infections and trained more than 180,000 people to educate others about HIV/AIDS prevention.

National Institutes of Health
The U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) supports more than 35,000 research projects at more than 2,000 research institutions across the U.S. and around the world. Total NIH FY 2001 HIV/AIDS research funding is estimated to be $2 billion.

NIH is a leader in the search for an HIV/AIDS vaccine, and with USAID and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), leads development efforts for a safe, inexpensive microbicide for the prevention of HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases.

Peace Corps
In June, 2000, Peace Corps Director Mark Schneider announced a multi-faceted, multi-year initiative to fight AIDS in Africa. Each Peace Corps volunteer in 24 African countries now works to improve HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention and help communities address some of the social and economic problems created by the epidemic.

U.S. Military Program
The U.S. Military HIV Research Program's (USMHRP) initiatives aim to prevent HIV/AIDS in the military populations of the U.S. and its allies. Approximately one-third of the USMHRP annual budget of $26 million is expended overseas through the Department of Defense's network of biomedical research and development laboratories. Successful prevention programs developed for the military will be shared with civilian populations. As part of the LIFE Initiative, the Department of Defense is spearheading military-to-military HIV-related training in the 15 target countries.

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