{{“Focus, Partner, Achieve: An AIDS-free Generation.”
World AIDS Day 2014 }}
World AIDS Day is an opportunity to reflect on the many successes and challenges faced by the global community in the fight against HIV and AIDS. We remember the lives lost, celebrate the lives saved, and pay tribute to the individuals and organizations working tirelessly to bring an end to HIV/AIDS. Nearly 35 years into the global AIDS epidemic, it is important to reflect on how far we have come in Rwanda and renew our efforts to reach the goal of an AIDS-free generation.
Today the U.S. Government’s official theme for World AIDS 2014 is Focus, Partner, Achieve: An AIDS-free generation. To get ahead of the epidemic we need to focus on a strategy to deliver the highest impact interventions in the right place, at the right time, and among the most vulnerable populations. The U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) is the largest commitment by any nation to combat a single disease.
The United States is Rwanda’s largest bilateral donor, but what is not known is that the majority of these funds go to support initiatives in the area of health and HIV/AIDS.
Since 2003 our close partnership has seen remarkable progress toward achieving an AIDS-free generation in Rwanda. To date the U.S. Government has committed more than $700 million to support Rwanda’s HIV/AIDS response. In 2014, 80 percent of Rwanda’s HIV-positive population requiring anti-retroviral treatment (ART) receives this critical lifesaving medication, and the United States through PEPFAR has provided support for over 82,000 of the 139,000 men, women and children on treatment. Over the past year, PEPFAR has directly supported over 60,000 orphans, vulnerable children and their families with needed education, health and other services. PEPFAR’s efforts with the Ministry of Health and other partners to prevent the transmission of HIV from mothers to newborns have allowed more than 90 percent of all HIV-positive mothers to receive ART, greatly increasing the likelihood that their babies will be born HIV-free. We have been extraordinarily successful. But we have more work to do.
No one entity alone can create an AIDS-free generation. In Rwanda this means increasing and strengthening our collaborations with the Ministry of Health, the Global Fund, the United Nations and other partners, including civil society and the faith-based community. It also means ensuring that services are provided to those key populations that need them without stigma or discrimination.
We measure our successes by results –– lives saved and new infections averted. Our programs will be evaluated by how well we work together to target and tailor our efforts toward controlling the epidemic in Rwanda. This means stronger collaboration and coordination than ever before to ensure that our investments are used efficiently and effectively, achieve maximal impact, and bring Rwanda closer to sustaining its own response.
The United States and PEPFAR are committed to a continued partnership with Rwanda to achieve an AIDS-free generation with enduring results. Focusing on the three guiding pillars of accountability, transparency, and impact will ensure that our collective investment achieves HIV epidemic control.
We are close to controlling the epidemic, globally, but especially in Rwanda. The strong partnership between PEPFAR and Rwanda is what will get us there. By pushing ahead together, an AIDS-free generation is within our reach.
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