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Skriven 2006-12-01 23:31:22 av Whitehouse Press (1:3634/12.0)
Ärende: Press Release (0612012) for Fri, 2006 Dec 1
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Fact Sheet: World AIDS Day 2006
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For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
December 1, 2006

Fact Sheet: World AIDS Day 2006


ÿÿÿÿÿ President Bush Discusses World AIDS Day ÿÿÿÿÿ In Focus: HIV/AIDS
ÿÿÿÿÿ

Today, President Bush Marked World AIDS Day 2006 By Renewing Our Nation's
Commitment To Addressing The HIV/AIDS Pandemic.ÿThe President discussed the
global and domestic response to HIV/AIDS at a roundtable discussion with
Mrs. Laura Bush, Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Michael Leavitt,
U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator Mark Dybul, and community leaders from the
United States and Africa.ÿ This World AIDS Day, the U.S. Government is
highlighting "The Promise of Partnerships."ÿÿ

INTERNATIONAL EFFORTS: America Continues To Lead The World In Fighting
HIV/AIDS

The President's Emergency Plan For AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) Is Meeting The
President's Commitment Of $15 Billion Over Five Years To Support Treatment
For 2 Million People, Prevention Of 7 Million New Infections, And Care For
10 Million People.ÿ PEPFAR is the largest international health initiative
dedicated to a single disease.ÿ PEPFAR works worldwide, but targets 15
focus countries that are home to approximately half of the world's 39
million HIV-positive people: Botswana, Cote d'Ivoire, Ethiopia, Guyana,
Haiti, Kenya, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania,
Uganda, Vietnam, and Zambia.ÿ

As Of September 30, 2006, PEPFAR Was Supporting Life-Saving Antiretroviral
Treatment For Approximately 822,000 People Living With HIV/AIDS.ÿThis is
taking place through bilateral programs in PEPFAR's 15 focus countries in
sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean.ÿOf the 822,000 individuals
receiving treatment through PEPFAR, 61 percent are women and 9 percent are
children age 14 and under.ÿ
  þ PEPFAR Is Supporting The Leadership Of Local Communities.ÿPEPFAR works
    with partners in host nations to support local capacity and to sustain
    prevention, treatment, and care efforts long after the initial five
    years of the Emergency Plan.ÿOver 80 percent of PEPFAR partners are
    indigenous organizations.
  þ PEPFAR Is Supporting Innovative Partnerships To Train Local Health Care
    Professionals. ÿFor example,a PEPFAR initiative launched in May 2006
    places health care professionals from the Ethiopian Diaspora community
    in volunteer assignments in Ethiopia to train and work side-by-side
    with Ethiopian counterparts.ÿ This initiative will use a new database
    to identify qualified professionals from the Diaspora to help
    Ethiopia's HIV/AIDS campaign.
  þ PEPFAR's New Partner Initiative (NPI) Will Award Its First Round Of
    Grants For HIV/AIDS Prevention And Care. President Bush launched the
    $200 million New Partners Initiative on World AIDS Day 2005.ÿ The first
    round of three-year grants will award up to $72 million in 23 grants to
    organizations in the United States and Africa.ÿ These organizations
    will work in 13 of PEPFAR's 15 focus countries.ÿ
      þ The NPI Is Identifying And Supporting Organizations Providing
        Health Care In The Developing World, Including Faith-Based And
        Community Organizations, To Achieve Local Ownership And Long-Term
        Sustainability.ÿ

The United States Supports The Most Diverse Prevention Portfolio Of Any
International Partner. In addition to the ABC (Abstain, Be faithful, and
the correct and consistent use of Condoms) approach, the U.S. supports
programs that focus on prevention of mother-to-child transmission, on blood
safety and safe medical injections, on intravenous drug users, on
HIV-discordant couples, on alcohol abuse, and on other key issues,
including gender-specific programs.ÿ

The United States Leads The World In Its Support Of The Global Fund To
Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis And Malaria.ÿ President Bush made the Fund's
founding contribution, and the United States has pledged almost $2 billion
through 2008  far more than any other nation.

DOMESTIC EFFORTS: The Administration Is Working To Help The 1 Million
Americans Living With HIV/AIDS

The Administration Is Working To Address The Needs Of People Living With
HIV/AIDS And To Prevent New HIV Infections Within The United States.ÿ Of
the approximately 40,000 new transmissions occurring annually in the United
States, about half are spread by individuals unaware they are infecting
others.ÿ The number of AIDS cases is especially high in the
African-American, Hispanic, and gay communities, as well as among
intravenous drug users and prisoners.ÿ
  þ The President Has Called For HIV Tests To Become A Routine Part Of Care
    So All Americans Know Their Status.ÿ The HHS Centers for Disease
    Control and Prevention (CDC) have released guidelines to physicians
    recommending routine voluntary HIV testing as a part of regular medical
    care for all people between the ages of 13-64, and annual screening for
    those at high risk.
  þ Since 2001, The Administration Has Devoted More Than $74 Billion To
    Treatment And Care, Increasing Annual Treatment Funding By 37
    Percent.ÿIn addition, the Administration has devoted more than $15
    billion to HIV/AIDS research to help develop new methods of treatment
    and prevention, increasing annual research funding by 20 percent.
  þ The President's 2007 Budget Requested $93 Million To Purchase And
    Distribute Rapid HIV Test Kits That Will Facilitate Testing Of More
    Than 3 Million Additional Americans.ÿOf the approximately 1 million
    people infected with HIV, an estimated 250,000 are unaware they carry
    the virus.ÿ Rapid HIV test kits will be directed at communities with
    the highest rates of newly discovered HIV cases, including prisoners
    and intravenous drug users.
  þ The President Has Proposed Making $70 Million Available For States To
    Bridge Coverage Gaps For AIDS Patients Awaiting Life-Saving
    Medications.ÿ These funds would help States support care for additional
    patients.
  þ The President Has Proposed Making $25 Million Available To Strengthen
    Awareness Of HIV/AIDS In High-Risk Communities.ÿ These funds would
    strengthen outreach to minority communities by local and faith-based
    organizations.
  þ The President Has Called On Congress To Reauthorize The Ryan White Care
    Act.ÿHe is calling for reauthorization in accordance with three key
    principles: focusing Federal resources on life-extending care; better
    targeting resources to address the greatest needs; and encouraging the
    participation of all providers, including faith-based and community
    organizations that can demonstrate results.

The President Is Dedicated To Ending Discrimination Against People Living
With HIV/AIDS

The President Will Direct The Secretary Of State To Request And The
Secretary Of Homeland Security To Initiate A Rulemaking That Would Propose
A Categorical Waiver For HIV-Positive People Seeking To Enter TheÿUnited
StatesÿOn Short-Term Visas.ÿThe President considers the participation of
people living with HIV/AIDS a critical element in the global HIV/AIDS
response.ÿA 1993 law prohibits HIV-positive people from receiving visas to
visit theÿUnited Statesÿwithout a waiver.ÿ A categorical waiver would
enable HIV-positive people to enter theÿUnited Statesÿfor short
visitsÿthrough a streamlined process.

More Information On The Administration's International And Domestic
Response To HIV/AIDS Is Available At www.pepfar.gov And www.AIDS.gov.

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