Hiv/Aids and Pepfar
PEPFAR: President Bush’s War on HIV/AIDS
The legacy of former President George W. Bush is seen as an ominous cloud rather than a beam of sunshine, especially due to the number of Americans who continually blame President Bush for many of their woes or current state of lament hardship. Regardless of your opinion concerning the former President’s legacy, President Bush does have some positive marks. In 2003, President George W. Bush initiated the greatest effort to combat any disease in history. This noble effort by the United States sought out to provide aid and relief to those suffering from the epidemic HIV/AIDS in regions with scarce or insufficient resources. The initiative was titled “PEPFAR” (President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief), and carried a cost of $15 billion dollars over the course of five years (2003-2008). The multibillion dollar commitment made by the United States sought to attack the AIDS epidemic that has been marching throughout Africa, and regions of the world. PEPFAR’s first phase began to establish care and treatment programs, providing necessary resources to dull or alleviate the devastating effects AIDS has been causing those infected with the disease. However, PEPFAR’s real success was seen in expanding PEPFAR beyond care and treatment, into HIV prevention as well. During this early stage of PEPFAR, care and treatment were provided to over 10 million people, with 4 million of whom being orphans or children considered vulnerable.(Washington Post: 2009). In addition, prevention methods of mother-to-child treatment services were provided during approximately 16 million pregnancies. In order to sufficiently combat HIV/AIDS, a necessary sense of urgency, determination, time and effort must be applied to attack the HIV/AIDS epidemic. An approach that expands prevention programs as well as care and treatment programs is essential in establishing sufficient efforts to HIV/AIDS prevention as we look to find, and sustain control over this
The legacy of former President George W. Bush is seen as an ominous cloud rather than a beam of sunshine, especially due to the number of Americans who continually blame President Bush for many of their woes or current state of lament hardship. Regardless of your opinion concerning the former President’s legacy, President Bush does have some positive marks. In 2003, President George W. Bush initiated the greatest effort to combat any disease in history. This noble effort by the United States sought out to provide aid and relief to those suffering from the epidemic HIV/AIDS in regions with scarce or insufficient resources. The initiative was titled “PEPFAR” (President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief), and carried a cost of $15 billion dollars over the course of five years (2003-2008). The multibillion dollar commitment made by the United States sought to attack the AIDS epidemic that has been marching throughout Africa, and regions of the world. PEPFAR’s first phase began to establish care and treatment programs, providing necessary resources to dull or alleviate the devastating effects AIDS has been causing those infected with the disease. However, PEPFAR’s real success was seen in expanding PEPFAR beyond care and treatment, into HIV prevention as well. During this early stage of PEPFAR, care and treatment were provided to over 10 million people, with 4 million of whom being orphans or children considered vulnerable.(Washington Post: 2009). In addition, prevention methods of mother-to-child treatment services were provided during approximately 16 million pregnancies. In order to sufficiently combat HIV/AIDS, a necessary sense of urgency, determination, time and effort must be applied to attack the HIV/AIDS epidemic. An approach that expands prevention programs as well as care and treatment programs is essential in establishing sufficient efforts to HIV/AIDS prevention as we look to find, and sustain control over this
References: 1. English, Roger. 2007. “Dangers of Disease Specific Aids Programmes.” British Medical Journal, Vol. 335-No.7619. 2. Salaam-Blyther, Tiaji. 2007. “PEPFAR: From Emergency to Sustainability.” CRS Report for Congress. 3. Robinson, Eugene. 2012. “Bush and His Open Heart.” Real Clear Politics. http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2012/07/27/bush_and_his_open_heart_114924.html 4. Ghanotakis, Elena; Susannah Mayhew, Charlotte Watts. “Tackling HIV and gender-based violence in South Africa: how has PEPFAR responded and what are the implications for implementing organizations?” Health Policy Journal Links: 1. Population Reference Bureau: http://www.prb.org/DataFinder/Topic/Rankings.aspx?ind=4 2. PEPFAR.gov: * http://www.pepfar.gov/strategy/document/133244.htm * http://www.pepfar.gov/