What is PEPFAR?

The U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) saves lives, prevents HIV infections, and accelerates progress toward achieving HIV/AIDS pandemic control in more than 50 countries around the world.

PEPFAR is the largest commitment by any nation to address a single disease in history, enabled by strong bipartisan support across ten U.S. congresses and four presidential administrations, and through the American people’s generosity. PEPFAR shows the power of what is possible through compassionate, cost-effective, accountable, and transparent American foreign assistance.

Since PEPFAR’s inception in 2003, the U.S. government has invested over $100 billion in the global HIV/AIDS response, saving over 25 million lives, preventing millions of HIV infections, and supporting several countries to achieve HIV epidemic control, all while significantly strengthening global health and economic security.

The program leverages the power of partnerships across multiple sectors, reaches the populations that are most affected by the HIV/AIDS epidemic with innovative solutions that meet their needs, ensures that every dollar is optimally focused for impact through data-driven policies, and supports partner countries to do the same. Through investments in HIV/AIDS, PEPFAR has contributed to stronger health systems in countries where it works, including laboratory and supply chain systems, data collection and surveillance systems, and strengthening the health workforce.

PEPFAR is managed and overseen by the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Global Health Security and Diplomacy and implemented by seven U.S. government departments and agencies, leveraging the power of a whole-of-government approach to controlling the HIV/AIDS epidemic. On December 1, 2022, PEPFAR announced a new five-year strategy: Fulfilling America’s Promise to End the HIV/AIDS Pandemic by 2030. The Strategy centers on collaboration and partnership to confront the challenge of HIV/AIDS in the wake or other emerging health threats.

What Are PEPFAR’s Priorities?

• Progress: When PEPFAR was launched in 2003, an HIV diagnosis was a death sentence in much of the world; entire families and communities were falling ill. In the intervening years, death and despair have been overwhelmingly replaced with vibrant lives and hope. With the American people’s generosity, the United States has saved 25 million lives and prevented millions of HIV infections through PEPFAR. Working together with our partners in more than 50 countries, PEPFAR has accelerated progress toward controlling the HIV/AIDS pandemic – community by community.
• Policies: PEPFAR ensures every dollar is optimally focused for impact through data-driven policies, and supports partner countries to do the same.
• Populations: PEPFAR reaches the populations that are most affected by the HIV/AIDS epidemic with innovative solutions that meet their needs.
• Partnerships: PEPFAR leverages the power of partnerships across multiple sectors to increase its impact and advance sustainability.

What Has Been PEPFAR’s Impact?

Since its inception, PEPFAR has had remarkable lifesaving results. Below are details on just some of PEPFAR’s latest global program achievements.

Supporting Countries to Achieve Epidemic Control

As of September 30, 2022, PEPFAR has enabled more than a dozen countries to control the spread of HIV or reach the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) 2025 95-95-95 HIV targetsExit Disclaimer, even without a vaccine or a cure, advancing global progress toward achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goal of ending the AIDS epidemic as a public health threat by 2030.

Delivering Life-Saving Antiretroviral Treatment

As of September 30, 2022, PEPFAR has supported life-saving antiretroviral therapy (ART) for more than 20.1 million men, women, and children with HIV. The massive, rapid expansion in access to treatment stands as one of PEPFAR’s greatest achievements for many reasons: not only has ART saved the lives of millions of people with HIV and increased their life expectancy to near-normal levels, but it allows individuals to achieve and maintain viral suppression, the strongest available intervention to prevent HIV transmission. (See PEPFAR’s annual report to Congress on HIV treatment.)

Empowering and Equipping Adolescent Girls and Young Women to Stay HIV-Free

Through the PEPFAR-led DREAMS (Determined, Resilient, Empowered, AIDS-free, Mentored, and Safe) public-private partnership, adolescent girls and young women are empowered and equipped to stay HIV-free throughout their adolescence. Since 2015, HIV diagnoses among adolescent girls and young women have declined in all geographic areas implementing DREAMS. Of these areas, 96% have had a decline of >25%; nearly two-thirds (62%) have shown a decline of >40%.

Enabling Babies to be Born HIV-Free and Supporting Orphans, Vulnerable Children, and Caregivers

As of September 30, 2022, with PEPFAR’s support, more than 5.5 million babies were born HIV-free. The program has also provided critical care and support for 7 million orphans, vulnerable children, and their caregivers so they can survive and thrive.

Preventing HIV Infection in Men and Boys

As of September 30, 2022. PEPFAR has supported 30 million with voluntary medical male circumcisions in east and Southern Africa to help protect men and boys from HIV infection. This is a one-time primary prevention intervention that reduces the risk of HIV transmission from women with HIV to men by 60 percent.

Strengthening Health Systems

PEPFAR has helped train 340,000 health care workers to deliver and improve HIV care and other health services, creating a lasting health system for partner countries to confront other current and further health challenges.

Access to PrEP

As of September 30, 2022, 1.5 million individuals have newly enrolled on pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) to prevent HIV infection. Demand for PrEP continues to increase, with 1.0 million newly enrolled on PrEP in FY21 and 312,000 in FY20.

Latest Program Results

PEPFAR regularly reports on results achieved by its programs.

• Read about the latest global results from PEPFAR-supported activities
• For more detailed information, visit the PEPFAR Data Dashboards.