President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief

The President's Emergency Plan For AIDS Relief (PEPFAR/Emergency Plan) was a commitment of $15 billion over five years (2003–2008) from United States President George W. Bush to fight the global HIV/AIDS pandemic. The program initially aimed to provide antiretroviral treatment (ART) to 2 million HIV-infected people in resource-limited settings, to prevent 7 million new infections, and to support care for 10 million people (the "2–7–10 goals") by 2010. PEPFAR increased the number of Africans receiving ART from 50,000 at the start of the initiative in 2004 to at least 1.2 million in early 2008. PEPFAR has been called the largest health initiative ever initiated by one country to address a disease. The budget presented by President Bush for the fiscal year 2008 included a request for $5.4 billion for PEPFAR.

The massive funding increases have made anti-retrovirals widely available, saving millions of lives. Critics contend that spending a portion of funding on abstinence-until-marriage programs is unjust while others feel that foreign aid is generally inefficient. According to a 2009 study published in Annals of Internal Medicine, the program had averted about 1.1 million deaths in Africa and reduced the death rate due to AIDS in the countries involved by 10%.

History

In 1998, when George W. Bush discussed running for president with Condoleezza Rice, she suggested that, if he won, Africa should be a focus in terms of foreign policy. He and his wife, Laura, also had interest in the continent and "compassionate conservatism." These thoughts and sentiments helped lead to the creation of the PEPFAR program.

The unclassified publication,The Next Wave of HIV/AIDS: Nigeria, Ethiopia, Russia, India, and China by the National Intelligence Council had been commissioned by the Bush White House in 2002 and was influential in the founding of PEPFAR. This work was significant because it discussed the mortality associated with the poorly controlled HIV pandemic across several decades and also forecast the impact of that excess mortality on U.S National Security interests.

The U.S. Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Act of 2003 (or the Global AIDS Act) specified a series of broad and specific goals, alternately delegating authority to the President for identifying measurable outcomes in some areas, and specifying by law the quantitative benchmarks to be reached within discrete periods of time in others. The legislation also established the State Department Office of the Global AIDS Coordinator to oversee all international AIDS funding and programming.

In July 2008, PEPFAR was renewed, revised and expanded as the "Tom Lantos and Henry J. Hyde United States Global Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Reauthorization Act of 2008". The expansion more than tripled the initiative's funds, to $48 billion through 2013, including $39 billion for HIV and the global Fund, $4 billion for TB, and $5 billion for malaria.

PEPFAR continues to be a cornerstone of U.S. global health efforts. In May 2009, the Obama Administration launched the Global Health Initiative (GHI) as an effort to develop a comprehensive U.S. government strategy for global health and cited PEPFAR as a central component. On June 23, 2009, Ambassador Eric Goosby was sworn in as the United States Global AIDS Coordinator.

Focus countries

When PEPFAR was signed into law 15 resource-limited countries with high HIV/AIDS prevalence rates were designated to receive the majority of the funding. The 15 "focus countries" were Botswana, Côte d'Ivoire, Ethiopia, Guyana, Haiti, Kenya, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Vietnam, and Zambia. Most of the $15 billion for the program was to be spent on these focus countries, $4 billion was allocated for programs elsewhere, and for HIV/AIDS research. (The other $1 billion was contributed to the Global Fund, see below.)

With the reauthorization of PEPFAR in 2008 there was a shift away from the "focus country" approach by authorizing the development of a Partnership Framework model for regions and countries, with the aim of ensuring long-term sustainability and country leadership. Through bilaterally-funded programs, PEPFAR works in partnership with host nations to support treatment, prevention and care for millions of people in more than 85 countries. Partnership Frameworks provide a 5-year joint strategic framework for cooperation between the U.S. Government, the partner government, and other partners to combat HIV/AIDS in the host country through service delivery, policy reform, and coordinated financial commitments.

See the PEPFAR World Wide Activities Map.

Implementing Agencies

Office of the Global AIDS Coordinator (OGAC)

Housed in the Department of State, the Office of the Global AIDS Coordinator oversees the implementation of PEPFAR and ensures coordination among the various agencies involved in the U.S global response to HIV/AIDS.  United States Ambassadors from the State Department provide essential leadership to interagency HIV/AIDS teams and engage in policy discussions with host-country leaders.

U.S. Agency for International Development

An independent federal agency, USAID receives overall foreign policy guidance from the Secretary of State and is the agency primarily responsible for administering civilian foreign aid. USAID supports the implementation of PEPFAR programs in nearly 100 countries, through direct in-country presence in 50 countries and through seven other regional programs.

Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)

Under PEPFAR, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) implements PEPFAR-funded prevention, treatment and care programs through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).  The Office of Global Health Affairs within HHS coordinates all of the HHS agencies to be sure PEPFAR resources are being used effectively.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

As part of the Department of Health and Human Services, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention uses PEPFAR funding to implements its Global AIDS Program (GAP). GAP works with highly trained physicians, epidemiologists, public health advisers, behavioral scientists, and laboratory scientists in 29 countries, who are part of USG teams implementing PEPFAR. Through partnerships with host governments, Ministries of Health, NGOs, international organizations, U.S.-based universities, and the private sector, GAP assists with HIV prevention,treatment, and care; laboratory capacity building; surveillance; monitoring and evaluation; and public health evaluation research.

Department of Defense (DoD)

The Department of Defense(DoD) implements PEPFAR programs by supporting HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment,care, strategic information, human capacity development and program/policy development in host military and civilian communities. The DoD HIV/AIDS Prevention Program (DHAPP) is the DoD Executive Agent for the technical assistance,management, and administrative support of the global HIV/AIDS prevention, care and treatment for foreign militaries.

Department of Commerce (DoC)

The Department of Commerce(DoC) provides support for PEPFAR by furthering private sector engagement through public-private partnerships. Housed within DoC, the U.S. Census Bureau assists with data management and analysis, survey support, estimating infections averted and supporting mapping of country-level activities.

Department of Labor (DoL)

The Department of Labor (DoL)implements PEPFAR workplace-targeted projects that focus on the prevention and reduction of HIV/AIDS-related stigma and discrimination. DoL programs (in over 23 countries) consist of three main components: increasing knowledge aboutHIV/AIDS, implementing workplace policies to reduce stigma and discrimination and building capacity of employers to provide support services.

Peace Corps

With programs in 73 countries, the Peace Corps is heavily involved in the fight against HIV/AIDS.Peace Corps volunteers provide long-term capacity development support to nongovernmental, community-based, and faith-based organizations as they provide holistic support to people living with and affected by HIV/AIDS.

Programs

The U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief: Five-Year Strategy report from 2009 outlines the PEPFAR strategy and programs for the fiscal years 2010-2014.

Prevention

To slow the spread of the epidemic, PEPFAR supports a variety of prevention programs: the ABC approach (Abstain, Be faithful, and correct and consistent use of Condoms); prevention of mother to child transmission (PMTCT) interventions; and programs focusing on blood safety, injection safety, secondary prevention ("prevention with positives"), counseling and education.

Initially, a recommended 20% of the PEPFAR budget was to be spent on prevention, with the remaining 80% going to care and treatment, laboratory support, antiretroviral drugs, TB/HIV services, support for orphans and vulnerable children (OVC), infrastructure, training, and other related services. Of the 20% spent on prevention, one third, or 6.7% of the total, was to be spent on abstinence-until-marriage programs in fiscal years 2006 through 2008, a controversial requirement (see below). The other two thirds was allotted for the widespread array of prevention interventions described above, including counseling, education, injection safety, blood safety and condoms.

The 2008 reauthorization of PEPFAR eliminated the 20% recommendation for prevention efforts, including the requirement for abstinence programs.

Treatment

In addition to providing antiretroviral therapy (ART), PEPFAR supports prevention and treatment of opportunistic infections, as well as services to prevent and treat malaria, tuberculosis, waterborne illness, and other acute infections. PEPFAR supports training and salaries for personnel (including clinicians, laboratorians, pharmacists, counselors, medical records staff, outreach workers, peer educators, etc.), renovation and refurbishment of health care facilities, updated laboratory equipment and distribution systems, logistics and management for drugs and other commodities. This is intended to ensure the sustainability of PEPFAR services in host countries, enabling long-term management of HIV/AIDS.

PEPFAR-supported care and treatment services are implemented by a wide array of U.S.-based and international groups and agencies. Among the largest "Track 1.0" (treatment) partners are Harvard University, Columbia University's International Center for AIDS Care & Treatment Programs (ICAP), the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation (EGPAF), and the AIDSRelief consortium of Catholic Relief Services.

Care

For those who have already been infected with HIV/AIDS, PEPFAR provides HIV counseling, resources for maintaining financial stability, etc. Special care is given to orphans and vulnerable children (OVCs) and services are provided that meet the unique needs of women and girls, including victims of sex trafficking, rape, abuse, and exploitation (see fact sheet on Gender and HIV/AIDS). Finally, the Emergency Plan works closely with country leaders, military groups, faith-based organizations, etc. in an attempt to eliminate stigma.

Results

The results of the program include:

The U.S. directly supported life-saving antiretroviral treatment for more than 5.1 million men, women, and children world wide as of September 30, 2012.

PEPFAR directly supported HIV testing and counseling for more than 11 million pregnant women in fiscal year 2012.

PEPFAR supported antiretroviral drug phrophylaxis to prevent mother-to-child transmission, more than 750,000 of theses women who tested positive for HIV, allowing approximately 230,000 infants to be born HIV-free.

PEPFAR directly supported nearly 15 million people with care and support, including nearly 15 million orphans and vulnerable children, in fiscal year 2012.

PEPFAR  directly supported approximately 2 million male circumcision procedures worldwide cumulatively through September 2012.

PEFAR directly supported HIV testing and counseling for more than 46.5 million people in fiscal year 2012, providing a critical entry point for treatment, prevention, and care.

The U.S. is the first and largest donor to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria.To date, the U.S. has provided more than $7 billion to the fund.

Of the estimated 8 million individuals in low- and middle-income countries who currently receive treatment, nearly 6.8 million receive support through PEPFAR bilateral programs, the Global Fund, or both.

Accountability and Funding

PEPFAR reports to Congress on an annual basis, providing programmatic and financial data as required by law. The Ninth Annual Report to Congress on the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief is available on the official PEPFAR website, as are more specific reports, financial information and other information.

Global AIDS funding is provided in the Foreign Operations and Labor, Health and Human Services appropriations bills, which, if the process goes smoothly, are agreed to by the House and Senate in advance of the federal fiscal year beginning October 1.  The Office of the Global AIDS Coordinator (OGAC) budgets according to the allocations provided by Congress and the policy of the Administration. Funding figures by program are reported to Congress by the Office of the Global AIDS Coordinator.

For FY 2013, President Obama requested $6.42 billion, including more than $4.54 billion for bilateral HIV/AIDS programs and $1.65 billion for the Global Fund.For FY 2014, President Obama is requesting $6.73 billion, including more than $4.88 billion for bilateral HIV/AIDS programs and $1.65 billion for the Global Fund.

PEPFAR was exempt from the Mexico City Policy.

Funding data

Funding data was obtained by the Center for Public Integrity from PEPFAR's own information system COPRS. The data were obtained after CPI sued the U.S. State Department to gain access to the data. The data were shared on the CPI site as well as analyzed by the HIV/AIDS Monitor team at the Center for Global Development, who also share the full dataset.

Criticism

Controversial requirements

Some critics of PEPFAR feel that American political and social groups with moral rather than public health agendas are behind several requirements of PEPFAR, pointing to the mandates that one-third of prevention spending in 2006–2008 be directed towards abstinence-until-marriage programs and that all funded organizations sign an anti-prostitution pledge. This pledge requires all organizations that receive PEPFAR funding to have a policy that explicitly opposes prostitution and sex trafficking which some activists compared to a loyalty oath. A number of AIDS organizations felt such a policy would alienate their efforts to reduce HIV contraction rates among sex workers. In 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the requirement violated the First Amendment's prohibition against compelled speech in Agency for International Development v. Alliance for Open Society International, Inc.

The requirement for prevention spending was lifted with the PEPFAR reauthorization in 2008, but some critics worry that some funds could still be spent on abstinence programs. The Center for Health and Gender Equity and Health GAP outline their criticism of PEPFAR on a website known as PEPFAR Watch. The previous 33% earmark has since been replaced by a requirement that if more than 50% of PEPFAR funds are allocated to non-abstinence promotion measures, the US Global AIDS Coordinator must report to Congress. However, the new reporting requirement continues to emphasize abstinence and fidelity to the exclusion of comprehensive approaches, such as those that include education about male and female condoms. This can cause a chilling effort for organizations receiving PEPFAR funding, who may censor their prevention activities and fall short of providing comprehensive HIV prevention services to women, men, and young people.

PEPFAR also does not fund needle exchange programs, which are widely regarded as effective in preventing the spread of HIV.

Lack of funding

While the Bush administration had promised to increase funding for PEPFAR, January 2010's Obama administration budget proposes to 'flatline' its funding. This could cause a drought in medicines to people who need them to survive. UNAIDS Executive Director, Michel Sidibé has said that the world is likely to witness ‘our worst nightmare’ if funding for HIV/AIDS medicines falls short of sustaining those already on anti-retroviral medicines.

In 2008, the U.S. Congress authorized the Tom Lantos and Henry J. Hyde United States Global Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Reauthorization Act providing $48 billion over 5 years ($9.6 billion/year) to PEPFAR. However, President Obama's $63 billion Global Health Initiative allocated $51 billion over 6 years ($8.5 billion/year) resulting in an overall decrease in PEPFAR funding while allocating $12 billion towards other global health initiatives including maternal and child health. Anand Reddi in The Huffington Post argues: "By not providing "new" money towards maternal and child health, President Obama has in de facto pitted HIV/AIDS funding against other global health priorities."

Though Obama had pledged $1.05 billion per year for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB, and Malaria for 2010 and 2011, the actual % contributed were 75% and 60% respectively. Overall funding has decreased by 22.5% between fiscal years 2008 and 2011.

Ezekiel Emanuel argues that AIDS funds are not the best use of international health funding. He co-authored a JAMA commentary in 2008, stating: "PEPFAR is not the best use of international health funding," and "fails to address many of the developing world's most serious health issues.". However, there have been numerous studies affirming that AIDS funds can actually advance and synergistically reinforce the overall primary healthcare infrastructure in recipient countries beyond just HIV/AIDS.

Randall L. Tobias

Critics of PEPFAR found fault with President George W. Bush's selection of former Eli Lilly and Company chief executive Randall L. Tobias as the first Global AIDS Coordinator in charge of PEPFAR, a position in which Tobias served from 2003 until 2006.

Paul Zeitz, executive director of the Global AIDS Alliance, stated that the naming of Tobias raised "serious questions of conflict of interest and the priorities of the White House", while Kate Krauss of the AIDS Policy Project called Tobias "the fox in charge of the henhouse". Ambassador Mark Dybul replaced Tobias as U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator on August 11, 2006.

Generic drugs

PEPFAR was criticized for initially funding only branded antiretroviral drugs instead of cheaper generic versions, but distribution of generic drugs began in late 2005.

Conditions

Many have argued that PEPFAR's emphasis on direct funding from the United States to African governments (bilateral programs) have been at the expense of full commitments to multilateral programs such as the Global Fund. Reasons given for this vary, but a major criticism has been that this enables the U.S. "to maximize its leverage with other countries through the funds available for distribution" since the "Global Fund and other multilateral venues do not possess the same top-down leverage as does the United States in demanding fundamental national-level reforms". However, since the inception of PEPFAR there has been a shift away from strictly bilateral funding to more mulitlateral programs.

Recruitment of locals

PEPFAR has been criticized for having a negative impact on the health systems in regions receiving its funding through its recruitment practices. Although Congress made attempts to limit its impact by prohibiting "topping off" salaries and limiting funding for healthcare worker training (thereby eliminating per diems as a method of augmenting salaries), PEPFAR funded programs effectively paid its local staff up to a hundred times more than that of the local healthcare structure.

Rather than strictly through salaries, program staff received benefits such as housing and education subsidies. Countries, already stressed by the number of trained physicians and nurses emigrating to western nations, have seen the presence of PEPFAR programs significantly decrease the number of skilled medical professionals willing to work within the domestic healthcare infrastructure. As a result, the overall health of these communities are placed in jeopardy, but funds, physicians, and nurses are diverted to combat HIV/AIDS exclusively within the framework of PEPFAR.

Harm reduction

Advocates for harm reduction believe that better results would be achieved globally if PEPFAR revamped their approach to reducing the spread of HIV rather than trying to prevent it all together. They believe that PEPFAR does not thoroughly take into account the prevalence of challenges against effective harm prevention. Although it is ideal, it is impossible to completely prevent drug use, prostitution and rape from occurring globally. By "reducing" the high-risks associated with HIV transmission, advocates believe their approach provides to be more effective in terms of results than harm prevention.

Faith-Based Organizations (FBOs)

FBOs and their missions of faith being intertwined within PEPFARs AIDS relief has been a sore spot for many. Opposition lies within the fact that many of the places where HIV/AIDS is prevalent do not adhere to the same religious doctrines as the FBOs are providing. [1]

Investigations

On June 15, 2011, the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (OIG) published a report critical of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC's) administration of PEPFAR funds. The report read in part: "Our review found that CDC did not always monitor recipients' use of [PEPFAR] funds in accordance with departmental and other Federal requirements.... [M]ost of the award files did not include all required documents" to demonstrate proper monitoring. On the November 19, 2012, the OIG published a report critical of the CDC Namibia Office's monitoring of the use of PEPFAR funds.

See also

• National Commission on AIDS
• Office of National AIDS Policy
• Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS
• President's Commission on the HIV Epidemic
• TRIPS Agreement

External links

Official

• Official website
• Office of the Global AIDS Coordinator
• A USA government fact sheet on the project
• AIDS.gov—The U.S. Federal Domestic HIV/AIDS Resource
• HIVtest.org—Find an HIV testing site near you

Others

• "Lectures For The Dying" by Max and the Marginalized (Song and Music Video about PEPFAR and Abstinence-Only Education)
• PEPFAR and the Global AIDS Response Video and summary for event held at the Woodrow Wilson Center in September 2007.
• PEPFAR Watch
• AVERT's PEPFAR Information Site
• AIDSPortal PEPFAR page with reports, events and factsheets
• Mozambique faces HIV cash dilemma, BBC News, December 1, 2004 (note: graphic images)
• CSIS Events — ABC Guidance Roundtable — Global AIDS Coordinator Mark Dybul, M.D., addressing controversies over the ABC approach to prevention, misinformation, etc. (December 15, 2005)
• Religious Groups Get Chunk of AIDS Money, ABC News, January 30, 2006
• Bush's Foreign Sex Policy, CounterPunch.org, December 22, 2006
• George Bush is an HIV/AIDS relief revolutionary at Jewcy.com
• Twice As Many Die: Bush's Duplicitous New AIDS Plan in Dollars & Sense magazine, July/August 2007
• The Flawed ABCs of PEPFAR Michael Stulman, Foreign Policy in Focus, August 21, 2007