USIS Washington File - August 14, 2006
Kathryn McConnell, Washington File Staff Writer

Results of those efforts, implemented in partnership with the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), are depicted in Voices of Hope, a new documentary film from PEPFAR.

Mark Dybul, U.S. Global AIDS coordinator, introduced the documentary August 9 at a showing in Washington. The film is being distributed to U.S. embassies worldwide for presentation to local audiences. Voices of Hope was released just days before the opening of the XVI International AIDS Conference in Toronto, the world's largest meeting of AIDS scientists, researchers, policymakers and advocates.

AIDS relief is succeeding because leaders of the more than 120 countries that receive PEPAR support are providing leadership in meeting the health needs of their nations in ways that are successful and sustainable, according to PEPFAR documents.

"Local health officials set the strategy and we [the United States] are supporting them," President Bush has said.

In Voices of Hope, HIV-positive people from seven PEPFAR countries talk about how prevention, treatment and care have affected their lives positively. Because of leadership inspired by the U.S. relief program, "for millions it is the dawn of a new day," says the film's narration. (See related article.)

PEPFAR is a five-year, $15 billion multifaceted approach to combating HIV/AIDS around the world. The program helps people "build their self-confidence," says a health care worker in Uganda featured in the film.

Voices of Hope describes how local outreach efforts, including the involvement of traditional healers and faith-based organizations, are helping men and women of all ages begin to openly discuss HIV/AIDS and embrace the "ABC approach" to prevention -- Abstinence, Being faithful in relationships and using Condoms.

One successful approach to prevention is the early testing of pregnant women for HIV and beginning of anti-retroviral drug treatment for women who test positive, preventing them from passing the virus to their babies.

Another means of HIV prevention described in the film is ensuring the safety of local blood supplies used for transfusions. The documentary also presents HIV-positive people who are being treated with accessible, free drugs that are extending their lives.

Programs funded under PEPFAR also teach people infected with HIV how to properly follow the drug regimen.

In the film, a Ugandan man describes how his weight had dropped to just 45 kilograms after he developed AIDS. Since he began regularly taking the anti-retroviral drug treatment provided by PEPFAR, he has regained strength, has decided to seek more education, and, again, feels hope for the future.

"Such a change we could not have imagined ... from so many dying to so many going back to work," after receiving the treatment, says the Ugandan health care worker.

Additional information about PEPFAR is available on the State Department Office of the U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator Web site.

Other sources of information are the Web sites of the public-private partnership, Global fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, and the Global business coalition on HIV/AIDS.

For ongoing coverage, see HIV/AIDS.

(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

060814
US060804

Copyright © 2006 - US Information Agency. Reproduction of this article (other than one copy for personal reference) must be cleared through the USIA.

AEGiS is a 501(c)3, not-for-profit, tax-exempt, educational corporation. AEGiS is made possible through unrestricted grants from Boehringer Ingelheim, Bridgestone/Firestone Charitable Trust, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, Elton John AIDS Foundation, the National Library of Medicine, Roche and Trimeris, and donations from users like you. Always watch for outdated information. This article first appeared in 2006. This material is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between you and your doctor.

AEGiS presents published material, reprinted with permission and neither endorses nor opposes any material. All information contained on this website, including information relating to health conditions, products, and treatments, is for informational purposes only. It is often presented in summary or aggregate form. It is not meant to be a substitute for the advice provided by your own physician or other medical professionals. Always discuss treatment options with a doctor who specializes in treating HIV.

Copyright ©1980, 2006. AEGiS. All materials appearing on AEGiS are protected by copyright as a collective work or compilation under U.S. copyright and other laws and are the property of AEGiS, or the party credited as the provider of the content. .