The U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief - January 2009 Newsletter

On January 12, 2009, the U.S. President?s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) launched its Fifth Annual Report to Congress. A review of the program?s last five years, the report details the successes achieved by the American people through PEPFAR.

The Fifth Annual Report underscores that PEPFAR achieved both its treatment and care goals early. To date, PEPFAR is supporting treatment for 2 million people worldwide and supporting care services for 10 million individuals. The report also highlights other successes such as the American people?s support of prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission services during nearly 16 million pregnancies, and the support of nearly 57 million counseling and testing encounters through fiscal year 2008.

Other impressive achievements are found in the report as well. For instance, to date, PEPFAR-supported programs have reached 58.3 million people worldwide with support for prevention of sexual transmission using the ABC approach (Abstain, Be faithful, correct and consistent use of Condoms). Also, the U.S. Government has supplied more than 2.2 billion condoms worldwide from 2004 through December 2008. And PEPFAR support for treatment in the focus countries is estimated to save nearly 3.28 million adult years of life through the end of September 2009 ? as many as were saved by treatment in the United States from 1989 through 2006.

The report?s title, ?Celebrating Life,? was inspired by South Africa?s Soweto Hospice, a PEPFAR-supported facility. The Soweto Hospice was often the last stop many HIV-positive South Africans made before their deaths. But following the introduction of PEPFAR-supported antiretroviral treatment in 2003, the hospice has been able to give its sick, HIV-positive patients a new lease on life.

Thanks to the support of the American People, the Soweto Hospice is a very different place today. Soweto staff members now administer antiretroviral treatment, help patients maintain adherence, and provide proper medical care and counseling. HIV-positive women who are expecting are referred to the prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission program housed within the hospice.

The Soweto Hospice is a reminder to everyone that HIV is no longer a death sentence. Thanks to their partnership with the American people, the dedicated staff and patients of Soweto Hospice have proven that the seemingly impossible is possible. And each day, their children, families, and friends celebrate the lives that have been saved.

To view the PEPFAR Fifth Annual Report to Congress, please visit: www.pepfar.gov/press/fifth_annual_report/ index.htm.

During a prenatal visit, Suzanne Kouadio discovered she was HIV-positive. ?I was terrified,? said the C?te d?Ivoire native. ?On my way back home, I felt the world around had stopped. I felt I was really lost.?

Looking for comfort and support at home, Kouadio instead found anger, rejection and ignorance about HIV/AIDS from both her family and boyfriend. She was asked to leave the house by her family. And while she was able to persuade her boyfriend to get tested for HIV, he never returned to the clinic to learn the result. He later died ? unaware of his HIV status.

Recognizing the risks associated with the disease, a pregnant and alone Kouadio enrolled in a prevention of mother-to-child transmission program. As a result, she gave birth to an HIV-negative baby.

But after successfully giving birth to an HIV-free child, Kouadio?s own health began to deteriorate. She soon visited a clinic supported by the U.S. President?s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) where she received antiretroviral therapy. Here, she also received a referral to community-based care and support.

Now healthy, Kouadio hopes to soon work as an HIV/AIDS counselor.

?I want more information and awareness campaigns to be organized so people won?t give up taking their medication,? she said.

He may be a ?big man,? but people are laughing him out of town. From the market to the Mayor?s office, people are talking about Fataki.

Fataki is a fictional Tanzanian sugar daddy. His stories are known by the masses. But this on-air phenomenon is not meant to merely entertain. Fataki is part of an aptly named Fataki campaign ? a campaign supported by the U.S. President?s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) that works to lower the spread of HIV/AIDS by rallying communities around Tanzania to put an end to harmful cross-generational sex.

In each story played on air, Fataki repeatedly preys on young women offering them money, gifts and promises for sex. But with each plot, Fataki is unexpectedly thwarted by the young girl?s family, friends and her community members.

First tested on the Morogoro Region?s radio waves, many have been quick to call the Fataki a success. The campaign?s findings in Morogoro show why. By the end of Fataki?s pilot run in the region, 88 percent of Morogoro?s adult residents said that, as a result of Fataki, they felt they could now do something to help solve the problem of cross-generational sex. Community members said that by ridiculing Fataki?s behavior, they were able to develop language they could use to help actively intervene in potential cross-generational sex situations. Forty-four percent of Morogoro adults also said they now call sugar daddies ?Fataki,? adding to the behavioral change the campaign seeks to accomplish.

?When we have evidence of this, community leaders need to take action. We have used Fataki as an example in our community meetings,? Chambda Yuma Umbisho, the Chairman of Doma Village in Morogoro, said.

Since its initial success in Morogoro, the campaign has spread to neighboring regions in Tanzania. As of November 2008, Fataki spots regularly broadcast on 15 radio stations across Tanzania and will continue to run through the end of February 2009.

Fataki is part of PEPFAR Tanzania?s comprehensive prevention portfolio which supports behavior change and promotes positive male and social engagement in the fight against HIV/AIDS.