GLOBAL: Changes afoot for US global AIDS policy
CAPE TOWN, 20 July 2009 (PlusNews): Just three weeks into his new appointment, United States Global AIDS Coordinator Dr Eric Goosby outlined on Monday some of the changes that President Barack Obamas administration will make to the superpowers global AIDS policy.
Goosby began by reassuring delegates at a conference in South Africa – many of whom are implementers of programmes funded by the US Presidents Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) – that fighting AIDS would remain a central component of Obamas foreign policy.
However, there would be a renewed focus on other priorities such as maternal and child health, and tropical diseases.
Researchers estimate that 1,2 million deaths in Africa were averted between 2004 and 2007 as a direct result of interventions funded by PEPFAR, but the initiative has also attracted widespread criticism over the extent to which conservative ideology appeared to drive policy decisions.
– Our achievements will be more durable if we lay on top of health activities, development activities, Goosby said, addressing concerns that PEPFAR programmes have been too focused on short-term goals to have an impact on the social and gender-related inequities that drive HIV/AIDS epidemics.
He promised that PEPFAR would find ways to address gender inequities in particular, including by developing strategies to engage more with men.
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