Stepping Up the War on HIV/AIDS

Specific Aspects of the Plan

Focusing Resources. Funding for HIV/AIDS country programs is based on established criteria to increase financial resources, technical assistance, staffing, access to commodities, and monitoring and evaluation in priority countries. The criteria for determining the amount, level, and types of assistance countries receive include:

• Severity and magnitude of the epidemic
  
• Impact of HIV/AIDS on economic and social sectors
  
• Risk of a rapid increase in HIV prevalence
  
• Availability of funding from other donors
  
• U.S. national interests
  
• Strength of host-country partnerships

Increasing the Number and Priority of Regional Field Offices. Regional HIV/AIDS field offices and programs will be strengthened with additional staff and resources. Regional offices will have increased capacity to track the epidemic, implement cross-border or other strategic interventions, and provide support as needed to bilateral programs and programs in countries where USAID is not present.

Maintaining Programs in "Basic" Countries. HIV/AIDS programs in the 20 "basic" countries help focus government policy on preventing large-scale epidemics as well as implementing targeted prevention activities. Staff will coordinate with other donors to increase overall funding levels. These programs will receive technical assistance and staff training from field-based regional offices.

Increasing Staff and Strengthening Management. In addition to increasing staff in country and regional field offices, staff will be increased in USAID's Office of HIV/AIDS to provide program guidelines, approve HIV/AIDS strategies, and track key activities. USAID/Washington staff will also strengthen monitoring and reporting systems, conduct biennial country program reviews, provide updated training to field staff to ensure that the best medical and operational practices are utilized, and conduct regional workshops to enhance staff skills and ensure that country strategies focus on the epidemiological areas of greatest concern.

Establishing Condom and Commodity Fund. A new fund for condoms and commodities such as medical supplies, testing kits, and drugs to treat opportunistic infections allows central purchasing of these essential items in the fight against HIV/AIDS.

Monitoring the Status of the Epidemic. An important component of the expanded response is the creation of a better system for managing programs and resources and measuring program progress. USAID has established a comprehensive system to collect, analyze, and share key information on HIV/AIDS. This system has three elements: annual and periodic collection of key national and program-level data, use of standard indicators, and reporting of data to central repositories for additional analysis and dissemination.

Country Priorities

• High Priority/Rapid Scale-Up: Four countries - Cambodia, Kenya, Uganda, and Zambia - are USAID's highest priority. These countries began receiving significantly increased resources in 2001 in order to achieve measurable impacts.
  
• Priority/Intensive Focus: In 19 countries, resources have been increased and targeted to reduce the severity and magnitude of the epidemic or define programs to keep HIV prevalence low.
  
• Basic: Thirty-one countries maintain a platform of bilateral funding complemented by strengthened regional programs and technical support.
• Regional Programs: Eight field-based regional programs will be strengthened to provide technical assistance to "basic" countries, develop programs to focus on sub-epidemics among populations at the highest risk, and implement cross-border activities and other programs for migrant populations.

  
  

HIV/AIDS Country Priorities High Priority/ Rapid Scale-Up Priority/Intensive Focus   Basic   Regional Programs      Cambodia Kenya Uganda Zambia   Brazil Dominican Republic Ethiopia Ghana Haiti Honduras India Indonesia Malawi Mozambique Nepal Nigeria Russia Rwanda Senegal South Africa Tanzania Ukraine Zimbabwe   Albania Angola Armenia Bangladesh Benin Bolivia Croatia Dem. Rep. of Congo Egypt El Salvador Eritrea Georgia Guatemala Guinea Guyana Jamaica Jordan Kazakhstan Kosovo Kyrgyzstan Madagascar Mali Mexico Namibia Nicaragua Peru Philippines Romania Tajikistan Turkmenistan Uzbekistan   Africa: Regional Economic Development Services Office (REDSO) for East and Southern Africa, Southern Africa, West Africa Asia & Near East: Asia & Near East Europe & Eurasia: Central Asia Republics, Central & Eastern Europe Latin America & Caribbean: Caribbean, Central America

Global Targets

By stepping up the war on HIV/AIDS, USAID and its international partners will work to meet the following targets by 2007:

• Reduce HIV prevalence rates among 15- to 24-year-olds by 50 percent in high- prevalence countries
  
• Ensure that at least 25 percent of HIV-infected mothers in high-prevalence countries have access to interventions to reduce HIV transmission to their infants
  
• Help local institutions provide basic care and psychosocial support services to at least 25 percent of HIV-infected persons and provide community support services to at least 25 percent of children affected by AIDS in high-prevalence countries
  
• Maintain prevalence below 1 percent among 15- to 49-year-olds in low-prevalence countries