Washington File Listing
People Living With HIV/AIDS Helping Lead Fight Against Pandemic
USINFO Webchat features Dr. Mark Dybul on February 8 PEPFAR report
By Susan Ellis
Washington File Staff Writer
Washington -- People living with HIV/AIDS are increasingly leaders in the fight against the disease, Dr. Mark Dybul, U.S. deputy global AIDS coordinator, told a State Department hosted online discussion February 10.
The USINFO Webchat focused on the February 8 release of Action Today, a Foundation for Tomorrow, the Bush administration's second annual report to Congress on the results achieved by the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and U.S. partners in host nations during the past two years. (See related article.)
Groups of people living with HIV/AIDS virus "can help implementers design the most appropriate and responsive interventions," Dybul said. "So our U.S. government teams are reaching out to such groups, including them in program design and implementation, and providing funding for a growing number of groups in order to build their capacity."
The five-year, $15 billion initiative to fight the global HIV/AIDS pandemic focuses especially on the 15 hardest-hit nations. In addition to providing immediate assistance, PEPFAR establishes partnerships to help these countries in Africa, Asia and the Caribbean improve their health care systems and increase their capacity to cope with the epidemic.
"The results these partnerships have been able to achieve so far are impressive,” Dybul said, encouraging the webchat participates to read the report, available on the Office of the U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator Web site.
One participant, an official at the U.S. Embassy in Maseru, Lesothu, said "One of the relatively new developments" that Peace Corps volunteers in Lesotho have seen in the field is the organization of HIV/AIDS support groups in larger camp towns. These organizations are made up of and supported by groups of HIV positive members.
According to the PEPFAR report, programs now reach almost 3 million people, including 1.2 million orphans and vulnerable children. In 2005, the United States invested $2.8 billion in the program, and has set aside $3.2 billion for PEPFAR in 2006.
The program’s treatment component expanded in 2005 to deliver AIDS treatment to 401,000 people in the 15 focus countries, and 471,000 worldwide, according to the report.
Asked for his impressions on how well the news media is addressing HIV/AIDS, Dybul cited the importance of good journalism in disseminating accurate information.
"Yesterday I had an opportunity to talk to journalists from South Africa and Vietnam, and I was impressed by how seriously those journalists took their responsibility to inform their nations on HIV/AIDS. Health journalism is especially important in reducing HIV/AIDS-related stigma, and I want to thank all the journalists who tackle that difficult job," Dybul said.
Information on upcoming webchats and a transcript of the online discussion with Dybul are available on the USINFO Webchat Station Web site.
For additional information on U.S. efforts to combat the pandemic, see HIV/AIDS. For information on how U.S. foreign assistance is affecting lives, see Partnership for a Better Life.