United States of America (US) Government and Ethiopia: Sustaining Gains and Accelerating Progress Toward Ending the HIV Epidemic
For more than two decades, the U.S. government, through the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), has provided critical support to more than 50 countries around the world, helping them recover from the devastating impact of AIDS while improving the health and safety of millions of people. well-being. PEPFAR leverages the collective power and expertise of U.S. government agencies, the private sector, and academia to deliver assistance, innovation, and scientific and technical knowledge at an unprecedented scale and speed.
Across the world, communities once plagued by AIDS and hopelessness now have a new sense of life and hope. PEPFAR’s efforts have saved more than 25 million lives, prevented millions of new HIV infections, and successfully curbed the HIV epidemic in many countries.
In Ethiopia, the U.S. government has invested more than $3 billion over the past 21 years to support HIV/AIDS efforts. With this funding, we have partnered with the Government of Ethiopia to establish six regional referral laboratories (recently converted into regional public health institutes), eight comprehensive outpatient and maternity centers, an outpatient emergency room and academic medical center, A national public health training centre, 10 pharmaceutical warehouses and 22 health centres.
Over the past 21 years, PEPFAR, in partnership with the Ethiopian government, has provided treatment to more than 521,036 Ethiopians, 11,125 of whom were children. PEPFAR supports the Ethiopian government, local partners and communities to provide treatment care to 98% of people living with HIV.
While PEPFAR has made incredible progress in supporting the HIV/AIDS response in Ethiopia and around the world, the work is not yet done. To achieve the results that all Ethiopians deserve, PEPFAR and its key partners must overcome a number of key challenges.
Achieving long-term sustainability in the fight against HIV/AIDS will require new approaches from PEPFAR and other organizations and partners. This means working closely to build local capacity, coordinate efforts between donors and governments, improve efficiencies, and support Ethiopia’s vision while ensuring continued progress in controlling the HIV/AIDS epidemic.
In the coming years, the Government of Ethiopia must continue to provide greater financial, political and programmatic leadership in implementing the country’s HIV/AIDS programme.
Strengthening public health systems and building community leadership are important components to ensuring the long-term sustainability of Ethiopia’s HIV response. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief places a strong emphasis on strengthening Ethiopia’s health systems and enhancing community-led initiatives specific to Ethiopia’s needs. This is critical to maintaining long-term control of the HIV epidemic, as these efforts not only contribute to effective and efficient health service delivery but also ensure the sustainability of the fight against HIV.
By taking all of these steps, President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief will be able to boldly support the transition from emergency response to sustained efforts focused on providing prevention, treatment, and achieving viral suppression for people living with HIV so they can live longer, healthier lives life.
PEPFAR is committed to building partnerships with the Ethiopian government, development partners, people living with HIV, civil society, and faith-based organizations to develop a unified approach to Ethiopia’s long-term HIV response. This partnership will ultimately enable Ethiopia to achieve its goal of eliminating AIDS as a public health threat by 2030.
Together we can sustain gains and accelerate progress towards 2030 and beyond.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of the U.S. Embassy in Ethiopia.
