OHA December 2016 E-newsletter

Inside OHA - USAID's Office of HIV/AIDS. Working Towards Controlling the HIV/AIDS Epidemic
Health leader from DREAMS shares information with other women

Photo Credit: USAID/Communication for Healthy Communities

December 2016

Upcoming Events and Observations

World AIDS Day 2016

Major Announcements

2016 PEPFAR Results

The U.S. President's Plan for Emergency AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) data [PDF, 406KB] shows that significant strides are being made in controlling the epidemic in older adults and babies in three key African countries – Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe – where PEPFAR has significantly invested.

ACT Results

The Accelerating Children's HIV/AIDS Treatment (ACT) initiative [PDF, 806KB] is a public-private partnership that has enabled more than 500,000 children access to life-saving treatment in nine priority countries.

Release of PEPFAR Sustainability Paper

The global response to the HIV and AIDS epidemic, led in large part by the U.S. Government, is tremendous. Today, with 37 million people living with HIV and only about half of whom are on treatment, the need to ensure long-term sustainability of HIV investments is critical. The PEPFAR position paper: Sustainable HIV Epidemic Control [PDF, 513KB] lays out PEPFAR's tactics to sustainably build national HIV responses and practices that monitor progress toward sustainable epidemic control and achievement of the global 90-90-90 goals.

Launch of HVTN 702 Trial in South Africa

This new study will determine whether an investigational vaccine regimen is safe, tolerable and effective at preventing HIV infection among South African adults. Watch the AIDS.gov Facebook Live conversation with Carl Dieffenbach, Ph.D., Director of the Division of AIDS at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, about the HVTN 702 trial.

Additional Resources:

USAID Commemorates World AIDS Day

Mosaic of the globe made of photos. World AIDS Day 2016. Leadership. Commitment. Impact. HIV30x30

Credit: Chase Feus/USAID

#HIV30x30 Campaign

This year marks the U.S. Agency for International Development's (USAID's) 30-year investment in the fight against HIV and AIDS. As we celebrate this milestone, USAID is actively continuing to effectively test, treat and care for people around the world, setting our sights on achieving zero new HIV infections. To reach the goal of an AIDS-free generation, we must continue to respond to HIV and AIDS with sustainable solutions and shared partnerships. To highlight our achievements over the past 3 decades, USAID's Office of HIV/AIDS is excited to share the World AIDS Day photo mosaic, a culmination of the #HIV30x30 campaign. The campaign began on November 1, and for each day of the month, USAID's Global Health Twitter account posted one photo, graphic or quote – each representing an aspect of USAID's contributions to combating the epidemic. The images and quotes were crowdsourced from partners, civil societies, advocates and USAID missions from around the world. This photo mosaic is the amalgam of submissions, which come together to represent our global strength in working toward eliminating this global disease. Download a printable version of the #HIV30x30 Mosaic [PDF, 1.6MB].

Conversations on Social Media

Additional Resources

 

Four photos of people and text saying 'December 7, 12pm EDT. #KPsandthe16Days. Join @Linkages project for a twitter chat.'

Photo credit: Linkages Project/FHI360

16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence

November 25 through December 10 marked the annual 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence (GBV) campaign, which is meant to bring attention to the urgent global need to eliminate violence against vulnerable populations. USAID's LINKAGES project promotes an inclusive view of GBV – one that acknowledges that GBV affects not only women and girls in the general population, but also men who have sex with men; transgender people; and highly marginalized groups of women, like sex workers and women who inject drugs, who are often excluded from calls to end violence against women and girls. In honor of this campaign, the LINKAGES Project hosted the #KPsAndThe16Days Twitter chat to focus on the heavy burden of GBV among key populations and on how individuals, communities, programmers, policymakers and organizations can better respond to GBV against key populations.

 

Gayle Smith speaking from a podium

Photo credit: Ellie Van Houtte/USAID

USAID Administrator Gayle Smith Reflects on the Obama Administration's Development Legacy

As the Obama Presidency draws to a close, USAID Administrator Gayle Smith reflected on the legacy of international development that the Obama Administration has had over the last eight years. During a speech at the Center for Global Development on December 7, Administrator Smith highlighted USAID's major accomplishments which were made possible through presidential leadership, bipartisan congressional support, and impactful partnership and collaboration. Read and watch Administrator Smith's remarks.

OHA in the News

South Africa Launches HIV and AIDS Data Monitoring System

South Africa launched its first national HIV and AIDS web-based data monitoring system, developed in collaboration between PEPFAR and USAID through Right to Care, Boston University, South Africa's National Health Laboratory Service, the National Institute for Communicable Diseases and the National Department of Health. The system aims to make HIV data accessible to healthcare practitioners involved in managing the HIV and AIDS epidemic in near-real time. Learn more.

Dapivirine Ring Results Published in New England Journal of Medicine

The New England Journal of Medicine published two articles titled, Use of a Vaginal Ring Containing Dapivirine for HIV-1 Prevention in Women and Safety and Efficacy of a Dapivirine Vaginal Ring for HIV Prevention in Women, and a correlating video summary on the Dapivirine Ring Study and ASPIRE Study. Results from the USAID-funded Ring Study were announced earlier this year at the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections, which showed a reduction in HIV infection in women by up to 31 percent through use of the vaginal ring.

New Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes Supplement Launched

A new USAID-supported Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes (JAIDS) supplement shows that effective health communication helps keep people in treatment throughout the HIV continuum of care, leading to more positive health outcomes. The supplement was published December 9, 2016. Learn more.

Send Us Your Ideas!

We want your topic suggestions for blogs, success stories, videos or other media that highlight and tell the story of your organization's work with USAID's Office of HIV/AIDS under PEPFAR. Send us topic suggestions for blogs, success stories, videos or other media that highlight your organizations work with USAID's Office of HIV/AIDS under PEPFAR to be featured on USAID Global Health's Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Flickr and website platforms.

Contact OHA-Communications-Team@usaid.gov for more information.

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