The Kaiser Family Foundation hosted a town hall-style session with Ambassador Eric Goosby, the U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator, to explore the new five-year strategy for the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), announced by the Obama Administration on Dec. 1. Ambassador Goosby discussed the strategy, including how it fits into the larger U.S. Global Health Initiative, announced last May, and fielded questions from the audience. The hour-long session was moderated by Jen Kates, Kaiser Vice President and Director of HIV Policy at the Foundation.

PEPFAR, first proposed by the President Bush, was authorized by Congress in 2003 as a five-year, $15 billion initiative to combat the global HIV/AIDS epidemic, as well as TB and malaria, through U.S. bilateral efforts and contributions to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. It is the single largest source of support for global health by the U.S. government. In 2008, Congress reauthorized PEPFAR for an additional five years at up to $48 billion for the three diseases. This legislation also mandated a five-year strategy to expand and improve global HIV/AIDS programs. The much anticipated strategy lays out the broad goals and objectives for PEPFAR and comes as the U.S. government is in the process of developing a broader strategy for its global health portfolio and re-examining foreign aid and development programs more generally. This event is part of Kaiser’s ongoing efforts inform policy discussions about the U.S. role in global health.

Event Date

Dec 04, 2009