Celebrating 20 Years of PEPFAR: Science Summit Highlights Impact of US Investments to End HIV in Uganda

Press release

Celebrating 20 Years of PEPFAR: Science Summit Highlights Impact of US Investments to End HIV in Uganda

Kampala, February 1, 2023 – The US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) celebrated 20 years of unprecedented impact in Uganda’s fight to end HIV/AIDS by releasing a study, ‘Scaling up HIV antiretroviral therapy and estimating HIV infections averted and deaths—Uganda, 2004-2022.’ The study, shared this week at PEPFAR’s annual science summit in Kampala, highlights the success of U.S. investments and partnerships in Uganda through PEPFAR, a program that has transformed the global AIDS response and set a milestone for America’s commitment to the countries most affected by AIDS. epidemic.

The study finds that a massive scale-up of Uganda’s PEPFAR-supported antiretroviral therapy (ART) program from 2004 to 2022 averted nearly 600,000 HIV-related deaths, as well as nearly 500,000 new HIV infections. HIV, including more than 230,000 among HIV-exposed infants.

“This is one of many studies and programmatic presentations shared at this year’s PEPFAR Uganda Annual Science Summit which aims to highlight the remarkable occasion of PEPFAR’s 20th anniversary,” said Mary Borgman, Country Coordinator of the PEPFAR Uganda. “The results highlight the success of U.S. investments in Uganda, which are built on strong partnerships between U.S. PEPFAR implementing agencies, the Ugandan Ministry of Health, and collaboration with partners.

The US government has supported HIV and tuberculosis (TB) research in Uganda since 1991. With the establishment of PEPFAR in 2003, Uganda became the first country to provide PEPFAR-supported ART for the treatment of HIV. To date, PEPFAR has invested more than $5 billion in HIV prevention, care, and treatment services in Uganda, and has also contributed to world-class HIV and TB research supported by PEPFAR. .

According to UNAIDS data, an estimated 1.4 million Ugandans are living with HIV. More than 1.3 million of them are currently receiving PEPFAR-supported HIV treatment. The first person in the world to receive PEPFAR-supported HIV treatment almost 20 years ago is a living, thriving Ugandan, further demonstrating the success of this life-saving program.

“Going forward, efforts will focus on identifying all people with HIV infection and linking them to effective ART,” Borgman said. “PEPFAR remains committed to a strong and ongoing partnership with the Ugandan government and other stakeholders to end the global AIDS epidemic by 2030 and sustain long-term impact.”

Now in its fourth year, the annual PEPFAR Science Summit is a dedicated platform led by the U.S. Mission in Uganda that brings together U.S. government researchers and scientists [the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the U.S. National Institutes of Health, the Department of Defense, and U.S. Agency for International Development], the Uganda Ministry of Health, and U.S. government implementing partners in Uganda, to share emerging scientific research to inform HIV and TB program implementation and policy. Some high-impact Ugandan studies presented at summits in 2020-2022 include giving new, shorter TB treatment regimens to people living with HIV; assess how community-wide HIV testing with universal HIV treatment for people with suppressed viral loads can help reduce new cases at the population level; and the impact of long-acting injectable drugs for HIV prevention in high-risk women.

In addition, PEPFAR has strengthened Uganda’s public health system by building manpower and expertise, and building health systems, including surveillance, data, laboratory and supply chains, which have proven resilient to shocks and adaptable to respond effectively to other public health threats, such as COVID-19 and Sudan’s Ebola virus disease.

To learn more about PEPFAR’s impact saving more than 25 million lives and dramatically improving health in more than 55 partner countries, visit www.state.gov/pepfar.

For more information, please contact:

Dorothy Nanyonga, Information Assistant
US Mission to Uganda, tel. : +256-772-138-194
E-mail: [email protected]

Through U.S. Mission to Uganda | February 1, 2023 | Topics: Health problems, News, Press Releases, Sections & Offices