South Africa has received approximately $30-million in additional United States government assistance to combat the HIV/Aids pandemic.
This new injection of funding completes South Africa’s $70-million allocation for 2004 under the President’s Emergency Plan for Aids Relief (Pepfar). Pepfar represents the US’s unprecedented, five-year, $15-billion commitment to fight global HIV/Aids.
On June 25, during the announcement of the release of an additional $500-million for Pepfar, global Aids coordinator Randall Tobias said: ”Swift action under President [George] Bush’s Emergency Plan for Aids Relief is bringing new hope to those fighting this disease. The US’s unprecedented commitment has already begun to show results.”
In South Africa Pepfar will go to supporting the South African government’s comprehensive plan to provide anti-retroviral treatment for more than 53 000 people, as well as prevention, palliative care and support to orphans and vulnerable children.
Pepfar embraces a comprehensive approach to fighting Aids through a balance of treatment, prevention and care programmes that work in concert to increase the effectiveness of each.
Substantial resources are also dedicated to overcoming infrastructure and human capacity constraints to fighting HIV/Aids in resource poor settings. Partners receiving funds from Pepfar have been strategically selected based, in part, on their ability to sustain projects and develop infrastructure while providing prevention, treatment and care.
The 15 focus countries of Pepfar are Botswana, Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Guyana, Haiti, Kenya, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Vietnam and Zambia. — I-Net Bridge