The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has announced the award of a $38 million grant to an Indian organization, the Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI), to implement the HIV/AIDS Partnership: Impact through Prevention, Private Sector and Evidence-based Programming (PIPPSE) Project.

This project will strengthen systems to improve the quality of planning, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of prevention programs, and will improve the prevention to care continuum and enhance private sector engagement.  It will contribute to India’s national strategy of saturating the coverage of most-at-risk-populations (MARPs).  The United States will also assist the Government of India in scaling up innovations and developing approaches to foster replication of effective interventions in other countries facing similar epidemics.

Reflecting on the grant, USAID India Mission Director William Hammink said, "Over the last two decades, the United States has contributed over $200 million for HIV/AIDS programs in India.  These resources have supported the pressing needs of people living with HIV/AIDS and MARPs, and resulted in statistically significant reductions in HIV/AIDS prevalence in the state of Tamil Nadu. With this grant, USAID will continue to partner with the government, civil society, and the private sector to support India in a transformative role in transferring these practices to other countries facing development challenges.”

PIPPSE, an activity developed jointly with the National AIDS Control Organization (NACO) under the Government of India-USAID Health Partnership Program Agreement, will play a critical role in strengthening the institutional and human capacity of NACO, State AIDS Control Societies (SACS), and other related institutions to respond effectively to the Indian HIV/AIDS epidemic.
 
PHFI is partnering with Population Services International, Futures Group International India Pvt. Ltd., and CARE India for the implementation of the project.