Moving Towards an AIDS-Free Generation

Two Decades of Supporting the Government of Nepal’s HIV and AIDS Response

2013 marks the 20th anniversary of USAID’s longstanding partnership with the Government of Nepal (GoN) to support the HIV and AIDS response. Two decades of USAID’s technical and financial support have pioneered evidence-based interventions that have saved lives and contributed to the health and well-being of People Living With HIV/AIDS (PLHIV). Over time, USAID-funded projects have provided valuable insights on how best to tailor and successfully implement activities to effectively address the epidemic in Nepal. The foundation laid by USAID and partners has contributed greatly to streamlining and standardizing the country’s HIV prevention and care programs; improving the reach of treatment activities; and increasing access to quality services for key affected populations.

The first-ever USAID project to work in HIV/AIDS in Nepal, the AIDS Control and Prevention Project I, became a model for future HIV interventions and groundbreaking initiatives in the country. Over the past 20 years, USAID-supported projects under the leadership and guidance of the GoN and in collaboration with multiple national, international and local stakeholders, have built a valuable body of operational know-how that has improved the ability of programs to reach key affected populations. USAID’s projects have translated new technologies and innovative strategies at the global level to real success on the ground in Nepal.

Today, under the umbrella of the Global Health Initiative, USAID remains steadfast in its commitment to achieve an AIDS-free generation by reaching hundreds and thousands of Nepali people with quality, standardized HIV prevention, care, support, and treatment services. USAID’s continuous contributions have made real impacts in both preventing new infections in target populations and working to improve the lives of those already living with HIV and the lives of their families as well. To commemorate the contributions that USAID, the GoN, and its partners have made over the past 20 years, USAID has planned a series of special events (check our social media pages for details) to celebrate this legacy as we enter a new decade filled with both great challenges and exciting new opportunities. We would also like to take this opportunity to thank those partners who have helped build USAID’s legacy of effective HIV/AIDS programs. Without support from the GoN, civil society, donors, and academia, countless lives would undoubtedly have been lost and Nepal would never have seen the advances in confronting the epidemic that we have witnessed in recent years. As Nepal commemorates this important anniversary, USAID urges all partners to renew the pledge to remember the lives lost, celebrate the lives saved, and recognize the lives still at risk.

As we reflect upon 20 years of support in the fight against HIV/AIDS, USAID stands committed to investing in evidence-based strategies that will help Nepal to achieve an AIDS-free generation. For, as Secretary of State John Kerry recently stated, “What has been achieved…is a lesson for all of us. And I think it is, in fact, a lesson that people should believe in humanity. To never doubt what we can achieve is one of the lessons of today, to know that we can do the remarkable, that we can find solutions to what seems to be unsolvable, that we can overcome the insurmountable and we can leave politics and ideology at the wayside in order to choose life and possibilities for people everywhere.”

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