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PlusNews examines potential cuts in U.S. HIV funding to Ethiopia

PlusNews discusses potential cuts in U.S. funding for HIV-related activities in Ethiopia and the role of greater in-country funding for health. In 2013, "Ethiopia will experience a 79 percent reduction in U.S. HIV financing from PEPFAR," according to a blog post written last year by Amanda Glassman, director of global health policy and senior fellow at the Center for Global Development, the news service notes.

11 Jan 2013

Global health spending levels remain unresolved under 'fiscal cliff' deal

The "fiscal cliff" deal agreed to by Congress "leaves suspended in mid-air the fates of programs essential to meeting the goals of continued global health responses -- including the implementation of PEPFAR's blueprint for an AIDS-free generation, and whatever promise the new Office of Global Health Diplomacy will offer," the Center for Global Health Policy's "Science Speaks" blog reports.

11 Jan 2013

GlobalPost blog interviews U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator Ambassador Eric Goosby

GlobalPost's "Global Pulse" blog interviews U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator Ambassador Eric Goosby "on the challenges and goals of the new PEPFAR blueprint and the promise of an AIDS-free generation."

3 Jan 2013

PEPFAR scale-up linked to strengthening of health systems, study says

Noting "PEPFAR has been criticized for its vertical or 'stove-piping' structure, with resources targeting a specific disease rather than working to strengthen the underlying health system," a study published in the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes "aimed to evaluate whether PEPFAR activities were associated with system-wide improvements in both proximal and distal indicators of health systems strengthening."

21 Dec 2012

Ambassador Goosby named head of State Department's new Office of Global Health Diplomacy

U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator Ambassador Eric Goosby "was named to lead a new Office of Global Health Diplomacy on Friday, the State Department said," the New York Times reports, noting, "Goosby will continue to head PEPFAR."

18 Dec 2012

U.S. government working to uphold, advance LGBT rights

In this White House blog post, Samantha Power, special assistant to the President and senior director for multilateral affairs and human rights at the National Security Council, highlights progress made across the U.S. government in implementing "the first-ever Presidential Memorandum to advance the human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) persons."

15 Dec 2012

Two Democratic Senators to join Senate Foreign Relations Committee

The Center for Global Health Policy's "Science Speaks" blog "continues to look at changes in Washington's global health leadership in the wake of November's election," writing, "While Sen. Dick Durbin [D-Ill.], who played a pivotal role in PEPFAR's creation, leaves the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, two new Democratic members, as announced Wednesday, will join the committee which directs foreign aid."

15 Dec 2012

Aidspan publishes new issue of 'Global Fund Observer'

Aidspan, an independent watchdog of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, on Friday published Issue 205 of its "Global Fund Observer."

11 Dec 2012

PEPFAR blueprint relies on science to inform policies, SciDev.Net reports

"Science is at the center of efforts to design and implement more effective preventative and care programs for HIV/AIDS set out in a blueprint published by a U.S. government initiative that fights the disease," SciDev.Net reports, referencing the PEPFAR Blueprint: Creating an AIDS-free Generation that was released November 29.

11 Dec 2012

Lancet editorial examines possibility of 'AIDS-free generation,' PEPFAR blueprint

"After three decades of global emergency responses and a series of scientific breakthroughs in the fight against HIV/AIDS, it is now tempting to ask if we are marching towards the end of AIDS," an editorial in the Lancet states.

8 Dec 2012

U.S. must maintain leadership in AIDS fight, bipartisan support of PEPFAR

Through travel to Africa and "as chairman and ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on African Affairs, we've seen firsthand the enormous toll of HIV/AIDS on families, communities and economies," Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) and Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.) write in the Huffington Post's "Politics" blog.

7 Dec 2012

U.S. House Minority Leader Pelosi announces new top Democrats on House committees

U.S. House of Representatives Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Wednesday announced the new top Democrats on House committees, Bloomberg reports.

7 Dec 2012

PEPFAR to buy additional 150 rapid TB testing devices

PEPFAR will purchase up to 150 rapid tuberculosis (TB) Xpert testing devices and cartridges to test about 450,000 people for TB, "addressing a need to improve diagnoses of drug-resistant strains of disease, and to identify the disease in HIV-positive people in sub-Saharan Africa and Myanmar, the Office of the Global AIDS Coordinator announced" Tuesday, the Center for Global Health Policy's "Science Speaks" blog reports.

6 Dec 2012

Report examines partnership between PEPFAR, Botswana

This report from the Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS), titled "Competing Pressures for U.S. PEPFAR In Botswana: Rising Ambitions, Declining Resources," examines how the "partnership will be tested as the United States and Botswana negotiate a complex, multiyear handoff of PEPFAR-supported HIV/AIDS activities and as U.S. financial assistance is reduced," the report summary states.

6 Dec 2012

U.S. must maintain commitment to research outlined in AIDS blueprint

Noting the recent release of the "PEPFAR Blueprint: Creating an AIDS-free Generation", Kim Lufkin, communications officer at the Global Health Technologies Coalition (GHTC), writes in the organization's "Breakthroughs" blog, "It's commendable that the U.S. government is continuing its legacy as a leader in the fight against HIV/AIDS, as this blueprint indicates.

6 Dec 2012

Devex examines reaction of international development community to U.S. AIDS blueprint

Devex's "Pennsylvania Ave." blog reports on reaction from the international development community to the release last week of the "President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) Blueprint: Creating an AIDS-free Generation".

6 Dec 2012

U.S. working with Namibia on AIDS response

U.S. Ambassador to Namibia Wanda Nesbitt writes in the State Department's "DipNote" blog, "Here in Namibia, the United States, through the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), is working closely with the people and Government of Namibia to prevent new HIV infections, provide lifesaving HIV treatment to those who need it, and help put an end to AIDS in the country."

5 Dec 2012

Senior adviser to President reflects on World AIDS Day

"This week, as we gathered in the White House with key scientists, policymakers, and community stakeholders to commemorate World AIDS Day, I was so proud to help highlight the progress we've made in the fight against HIV/AIDS," Valerie Jarrett, senior adviser to the President, writes in the AIDS.gov blog.

5 Dec 2012

Global Fund, Tanzania sign new grant agreement worth $308M

"The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria has signed a new grant agreement [with Tanzania] worth $308 million," Devex's "Development Newswire" reports. "The grant, signed Dec. 1, will help provide more than 660,000 Tanzanians access to antiretrovirals, HIV testing and counseling, and other health products for the next three years, according to a press release" from the Global Fund, the news service writes.

5 Dec 2012

Converting 'moral entitlements' into life-long AIDS treatment commitments

"Many currently believe that U.S. domestic entitlements are too large, but disregard the fact that the PEPFAR program has created a new class of moral entitlements overseas -- in the form of four million and counting people receiving U.S.-supported life-sustaining AIDS treatment in low- and middle-income countries around the world," Mead Over, a senior fellow at the CGD, writes in the Center for Global Development's (CGD) "Global Health Policy" blog.

5 Dec 2012