PEPFAR NEWSCENTRE

PEPFAR News

U.S. Deputy Chief of Mission Vincent Valle joins PEPFAR and Ivorian officials to inaugurate an HIV counseling and testing center June 2 in Gagnoa. PEPFAR’s record $84 million USD budget for 2007 will fund expanded HIV/AIDS prevention, care, and treatment programs throughout the country.

PEPFAR budget grows again – to record $84 million – to expand fight against HIV/AIDS in Cote d’Ivoire

The U.S. government has approved an additional $19 million for the fight against HIV/AIDS in Cote d’Ivoire, bringing its 2007 PEPFAR commitment to a record $84 million USD, the U.S. Embassy in Abidjan has announced.

The extraordinary add-on will help extend PEPFAR-supported comprehensive HIV/AIDS prevention, care, and treatment programs throughout the country, especially in the North and West, with scaled-up antiretroviral medication purchases, treatment of HIV-and-tuberculosis co-infection, and care and support of orphans and other vulnerable children. The 2007 total represents a 78% increase over last year’s PEPFAR budget.

PEPFAR (the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief) is a five-year, $15 billion initiative to help countries around the world turn back the tide of the HIV/AIDS pandemic. In Cote d’Ivoire, one of 15 priority countries selected for intensive U.S. support, PEPFAR is by far the largest funder of HIV/AIDS programs.

PEPFAR’s financial and technical support to more than 100 partners and subpartners – from government ministries to local community- and faith-based organizations – has produced significant results in the fight against HIV/AIDS in Cote d’Ivoire, including providing antiretroviral treatment for more than 25,700 people, palliative-care services to more than 44,000 people, and care and support for more than 24,000 orphans and other vulnerable children.