What does it take to end AIDS? Building a runway of sustainability for PEPFAR programmes

Professor Lucie Cluver and Professor Lorraine Sherr for the Coalition for Children Affected by AIDS

Nearly 500,000 children could die from AIDS-related causes by 2030 without stable PEPFAR programmes, expert policy analysis estimates.  

In the face of ongoing funding disruptions to US foreign assistance programmes, a group of international experts calls for urgent action to ensure the continuation of life-saving interventions and support for children and families affected by HIV/AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa.

The new Health Policy analysis, published in The Lancet, estimates that 1 million children could become infected with HIV, nearly half a million could die from AIDS by 2030, and 2.8 million children could experience orphanhood in the region without consistent, stable funding for US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) programmes. The published article is co-authored by Professor Lucie Cluver, Professor of Child and Family Social Work at Oxford University and member of the Coalition for Children Affected by AIDS.

The authors say their analysis presents strong evidence that funding PEPFAR programmes for at least five more years is critically important to prevent unnecessary paediatric illness, death, and orphanhood, maintain current progress in efforts to prevent new HIV infections worldwide, and uphold the USA’s position as a leader in global health diplomacy. 

PEPFAR has made significant achievements. To date;

  • 26 million lives have been saved from HIV
  • 7.8 million babies have been born HIV-free
  • 13 million orphaned and vulnerable children have been supported
  • 10.3 million girls have been protected from sexual abuse.

Over the next 5 years, by increasing domestic HIV funding locally in PEPFAR-supported countries, there will be less need for aid in the long-run. US leadership is key for a transition to Africa-led sustainability. Through this approach, we can build a 5-year runway to sustainability, rather than a cliff edge of childhood deaths, sexual abuse and orphanhood.

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