The U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief - February 2010 Newsletter

Earlier this month, the Obama Administration revealed an important new piece of its foreign policy agenda: a consultation document on the strategy for the Global Health Initiative (GHI). This document outlines the U.S. Government's operational plan for the GHI, emphasizing integration of programming, implementation of sustainable efforts, efficient approaches with positive results and collaboration among partners.

As described in the consultation document, the GHI will support partner countries in their efforts to improve the health of their people, with a particular focus on improving the health of women and children. As a cornerstone of the GHI, the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) is a critical piece of this initiative.

As a result of the remarkable successes the United States Government has achieved with partner nations in the fight against HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis in the past decade, the GHI seeks to expand existing U.S. Government commitments to broaden the impact of its activities upon broader health systems.

Cultivating a sustainable response to the range of global health issues is no easy task. The Administration is dedicating unprecedented funding - totaling $63 billion over six years - towards the GHI. This figure is nothing short of remarkable: compared to the preceding six-year period from 2003-2008, this resource commitment for 2009-2014 represents more than a doubling of funds.

This initiative represents a new and innovative way of doing business for the U.S. Government, promoting coordination among agencies and programs to avoid duplication of efforts and maximize the impact of each dollar invested. As part of GHI, PEPFAR will work closely with other United States Government programs to build the efficiency and effectiveness of national health systems, strengthening their ability to meet the variety of health needs individuals face, including HIV-related needs.

The GHI prioritizes a woman- and girl-centered approach. Over the long term, improving the health of women acts as a positive multiplier, benefiting not only the health but the social and economic development of future generations.

The GHI principles also reflect the reality that improving global health outcomes is a shared responsibility, and emphasizes collaboration with country and international partners. To sustain the gains made on HIV, PEPFAR will strengthen its partnerships with the multilateral community, nongovernmental organizations and the private sector.

"PEPFAR has accomplished great success since its inception over six years ago, and now as part of the GHI, I look forward to implementing President Obama and Secretary Clinton's vision to build on our achievement in the fight against HIV/ AIDS," said Ambassador Eric Goosby, U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator.

To view the consultation document, please visit: www.pepfar.gov/ghi/index.htm.

Following his marriage and the birth of his first child, Nguyen Thanh Duong was enjoying the happiest time of his life. "This was my heaven on earth," he says, "I could not ask for more."

But Duong and his wife were soon dealt a devastating blow. Not only did they both test positive for HIV, but their newborn died of AIDS-related complications. Duong himself was near death from untreated opportunistic infections. Wasting away, he knew it was time for his family to start preparing for his funeral.

But the funeral plans were put on hold shortly after Duong began receiving antiretroviral treatment from a newly-opened clinic in northern Vietnam's Quang Ninh Province. The clinic, supported by the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), offers free antiretroviral therapy, treatment of opportunistic infections, and support services to the poor and vulnerable.

After recovering from his opportunistic infections, clinic staff asked Duong if he would work as a counselor, helping to identify other people in need and encouraging them to seek services.

Today, Duong escorts people to HIV testing sites and helps enroll those who test positive into care and treatment programs. He is a compassionate presence to those who are newly diagnosed as HIV-positive and don't know where to turn for help.

After participating in an intensive paraprofessional nursing course - an innovative solution to the shortage of HIV/ AIDS health care workers in Vietnam - Duong also became an "HIV Medic." Now, along with dozens of other people living with HIV/AIDS, Duong takes on some of the clinical, counseling and administrative responsibilities of nurses and doctors so that medical staff can care for a larger numbers of patients.

A television series targeting teens and young adults supported by the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) is raising HIV/AIDS awareness across sub-Saharan Africa.

The three-part mini-series "Shuga," produced by MTV in partnership with PEPFAR and UNICEF, focuses on a group of friends exploring the complexities of love in Nairobi, Kenya. But unlike many other dramas targeting this audience, "Shuga" depicts characters in situations that force them to confront the risk of HIV infection and illustrates to viewers that a positive HIV test result is not a death sentence.

"It's fast, it's furious, it's cool - and that's exactly how we filmed it," said actress Lupita Nyong'o, who plays a lead role in "Shuga" as Ayira, a college student who finds herself torn between a boyfriend her own age and an older man.

The series shows its cast in settings and behavior patterns familiar to Kenyan youth - including sexual involvement with multiple partners and sexual exploration and alcohol abuse - and underscores that these situations make young people more vulnerable to HIV.

"This is really what we mean when we talk about the meaningful engagement of young people in issues that impact their own lives," said PEPFAR Senior HIV/ AIDS Prevention Advisor Tijuana A. James-Traore. "No other person or persons, I think, could have communicated the messages in the way these young people have done."

HIV/AIDS awareness is particularly crucial in sub-Saharan Africa, the epicenter of the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Last year, sixty percent of HIV infection among young people occurred in this region alone. And with young women in Eastern and Southern Africa particularly vulnerable to HIV/AIDS, "Shuga" is both essential and powerful.

"We're not the silver bullet," said MTV International's Vice President for Social Responsibility, John Jackson. "We're not going to solve this problem. But we're a critical player in getting a certain section of our community to think, to have a conversation they might not have otherwise."

Through a four-hectare farm, the Otabo People Living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) Support Group is providing members with the nutritional support needed to effectively adhere to antiretroviral treatment.

The farmland, donated three years ago by local Chief Ondoko Ocheibi, enables PLWHA to feed and care for themselves.

"We have seen how HIV has wasted the lives of many people in Akpegede including two of my siblings. So we resolved in my family to help the people living with HIV in our community," says Jeff Ondoko, son of the local Chief. He says his late brother and sister were not as fortunate as one of his younger brothers, Elaigwu, who has access to free antiretroviral drugs and is the farm manager for the Otabo Support Group.

Aaron Alechenu Ali-Abubakar, President of the 200-member support group, began antiretroviral therapy in 2006 with a CD4 count of 180. Today, as a result of treatment and care supported by the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), as well as an adequate diet provided by the farm, his CD4 count has gone up to 650.

"From this farm, we have garri and cassava to eat; fresh leafs from the cassava stems to make soup because we learnt it contains a lot of iron and vitamins," said Ali-Abubakar.

The support group not only provides nutritional support, but also encourages members to take their medications and attend their clinic visits.

The group has also been instrumental to the lives of Aladi Inyanda and her three-year-old son. Aladi was jobless, and the father of her son left them when she revealed her HIV status to him. Through the Otabo Support Group, the two were saved from life on the street.

"Thank God that my son and I receive free HIV drugs from General Hospital, Otukpo and care from Otabo. Look at my son. He has added weight because of the nuts I receive here," she says.