People receiving AIDS treatment doubles with United States, Global Fund support
01 December 2006
Washington - The U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria announced today that the two international partners are supporting life-extending antiretroviral treatment for a combined 1.2 million people living with AIDS worldwide. This represents a three-fold increase from the total number of people receiving treatment in low- and middle-income countries since December 2003, and a doubling in the past year.
"Four years ago, almost nobody in Africa and elsewhere in the developing world was receiving treatment. That well over one million people with AIDS are on now on treatment through the support of Global Fund and PEPFAR is a remarkable achievement," said Professor Richard Feachem, Executive Director of the Global Fund. "We must now build on this progress to reach the millions more who are still in urgent need. We look forward to continuing to work closely with PEPFAR and other partners around the world to do so."
"Looking at these results, it is inspiring to see what has been achieved. Dedicated people in-country, including faith-based, community-based and other humanitarian organizations, are transforming the world through the promise of partnerships," said Ambassador Mark Dybul, the U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator.
At the end of September 2006, 822,000 people received support for treatment through PEPFAR's bilateral programs in fifteen focus countries. The Global Fund supported treatment for 770,000 people worldwide. PEPFAR is still collecting data from other bilateral programs and will release global numbers at the beginning of 2007. Global Fund-financed programs have also treated more than two million people for tuberculosis (TB), the single largest killer of people with AIDS, and new data on the progress these programs have achieved in the fight against malaria will be released later this month.
"In Rwanda, financing from the Global Fund, U.S. programs, and others are fitting seamlessly together to support our battle against AIDS," said Dr. Innocent Nyaruhirira, Minister of State for Infectious Diseases of Rwanda. "The result is that thousands of our people who would otherwise be dead are healthy and caring for their families."
These numbers reflect the strong country-level partnership between PEPFAR and the Global Fund. Approximately 400,000 people in PEPFAR focus countries received treatment support from both PEPFAR and the Global Fund, and thus are counted in the totals given above for each organization. The United States, through PEPFAR, is also proud to be the largest contributing nation to the Global Fund, providing over 30 percent of its contributions to date.
The Global Fund is a unique global public-private partnership, which has committed $6.8 billion to fight AIDS, TB and malaria in 136 countries around the world. The U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief is the largest commitment ever by any nation for an international health initiative dedicated to a single disease - a five-year, $15 billion, multifaceted approach to combating the disease around the world.
The Global Fund and PEPFAR work closely together, and with other international partners such as UNAIDS, the World Health Organization, and the World Bank. They coordinate efforts in the countries which they jointly support to ensure that the greatest possible impact is achieved through their resources. This collaboration includes financing complementary activities to minimize duplication as well as ensure maximum impact on a national scale.
In addition to support for grant implementation at the country level, PEPFAR supports the Global Fund in its efforts to achieve maximum effectiveness, operate with appropriate transparency and accountability, maintain its performance-based funding approach and unique financing role, and support country-driven processes and participation.