The U.S.'s $18.8-Billion Global AIDS Initiative--5 Years Later
The Bush administration's international AIDS program has been hailed as a success story, but will President-elect Obama follow through with a higher quality, fewer-strings-attached plan?
The U.S.'s $18.8-Billion Global AIDS Initiative--5 Years Later
Share
11 In 2003 George W. Bush pledged $15 billion over five years to AIDS-related programs around the world. The program has helped put more than 1.7 million people on antiretroviral treatment, including at this clinic in the Helen Joseph Hospital in Johannesburg. Nicole Itano
10 PEPFAR is paying increasing attention to prevention issues. The Soul Buddyz club, run by Soul City, teaches more than 60,000 children across South Africa about making better choices. The clubs are tied to a popular children's television program, which is also supported by PEPFAR. Nicole Itano
9 At the Perinatal HIV Research Unit, PEPFAR also funds treatment for children. These liquid antiretroviral drugs are specially made for very young patients. Nicole Itano
8 PEPFAR has helped provide antiretroviral prophylaxes for more than one million pregnant women, preventing nearly 200,000 babies from being infected with HIV at birth. Here at the Perinatal HIV Research Unit at Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital in Soweto, HIV-positive mothers are also provided with milk formula to ensure they do not pass on the virus by breast-feeding. Nicole Itano
Advertisement
7 More than 33 million people have been tested for HIV with support from PEPFAR. Most voluntary counseling and testing facilities (VCT), like the Kganya Motsha clinic in Soweto, use rapid tests kits like these. Nicole Itano
6 Simon Mphaphuli counsels and tests teenagers for HIV at Kganya Motsha, an innovative PEPFAR-funded clinic in Soweto aimed at adolescents. The name means "shine young ones". Nicole Itano
5 Namisile Hlongwane and her third child [left] are both HIV-positive. Sister Susan Moloto visits to encourage her to enroll her daughter in an antiretroviral program for children. Nicole Itano
4 PEPFAR was initially criticized for using only expensive, brand-name antiretroviral drugs. But the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has now approved the use of cheaper generics, like these from South African company Aspen Pharmacare, with PEPFAR money. Nicole Itano
Advertisement
3 Soweto Hospice also helps patients, including Norah's family, with food parcels. It's important for people taking antiretroviral drugs to eat properly and PEPFAR has recently become more flexible in allowing money from the program to fund nutrition programs. Nicole Itano
2 Nurse Susan Moloto [center] and her patient, Norah Mahlangu [right], discuss Norah's antiretroviral treatment during a home visit in Soweto. Nurse Moloto helped Norah through treatment for tuberculosis and, later, to enroll in an antiretroviral program. Norah lives with her mother, Gladys [left]. Nicole Itano
1 The President's Emergency Plan For AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) pays the salary of Susan Moloto, who works for the Soweto Hospice as a home-based care nurse. Each week she visits the homes of more than 100 patients, helping them access treatment, manage opportunistic infections, and stay on their antiretroviral treatment regime. Nicole Itano
