The SA government and Pepfar form a powerful team, write Patrick Gaspard and Aaron Motsoaledi.
When the International Aids Conference opened in Durban 16 years ago, the challenge seemed insurmountable. Scientists were projecting that half of South Africa’s young people would die of Aids.
At the closing of the conference, President Nelson Mandela’s appeal to the delegates was: “Something must be done as a matter of the greatest urgency.”
No country could have met the enormous challenge presented by the HIV epidemic alone.
As a result, more than 10 years ago, the South African and US governments forged an unprecedented partnership to address this scourge head-on.
Through incredible commitment and leadership on the side of the South African government, coupled with technical assistance and more than $5 billion (R70bn) from the US President’s Emergency Plan for Aids Relief (Pepfar), South Africa now provides more than 3.4 million people with life-saving antiretroviral treatment - the largest treatment programme in the world.
We have achieved tremendous success in reducing mother-to-child transmission of HIV, increasing HIV testing, and the voluntary male medical circumcision programme across the country.
From next year, the South African government - with Pepfar’s support - will provide HIV counselling and testing to more than 13 million South Africans a year, cumulatively have 4.2 million people on HIV treatment, and reach 1.2 million people through prevention activities, including HIV awareness, prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV, and voluntary medical male circumcision.
Our goal is to make the biggest difference in the shortest time.
Due to this remarkable collaboration, millions of lives have been saved.
An estimated 6.8 million South Africans are living with HIV. The minister of health has announced the government’s commitment to launching a “test and treat†approach to all people living with HIV - an initiative the US endorses.
Last week, as a result of the highly effective partnership with the US, Pepfar committed funding of $467m over the next year, exceeding the amounts projected in the 2012 Partnership Framework Implementation Plan.
The objective of achieving an Aids-free generation is in sight - but the story doesn’t end there.
The next chapter in the struggle is unfolding.
Despite considerable progress, girls and young women remain highly vulnerable to HIV infection.
Adolescent girls are up to eight times more likely to be infected with HIV than their male contemporaries.
South Africa has the highest number - about 2 000 - of new HIV infections a week among young women.
It’s hard to imagine that more than 100 000 young women become infected each year.
So instead let’s imagine one girl. One girl who, through the highly effective partnership between Pepfar and the government, avoided HIV at birth because her mother had access to antiretroviral treatment.
This girl - who could be your neighbour, daughter, sister, or student - is trying to chart her course in the world. She has a one-in-five chance of becoming infected with HIV before she reaches the age of 25. Let’s imagine she dreams of becoming a mother, a lawyer, or the president. Would you do anything you could to give this one girl a chance of realising her dreams?
We would. That’s why, on June 24, Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa launched a national campaign that focuses on adolescent girls and young women and has five goals:
* Reducing the incidence of new HIV infections among young women.
* Decreasing teenage pregnancy.
* Decreasing sexual and gender-based violence.
* Keeping girls in school.
* Increasing economic opportunities for young people - especially for women.
The Pepfar programme Dreams - Determined, Resilient, Empowered, Aids-Free, Mentored, and Safe young women - is the linchpin of this campaign.
We have reached a pivotal point in the HIV/Aids fight. Reaching our shared goal will take the efforts of all sectors, working side by side: the government, Pepfar, the Global Fund to Fight Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria, the UN family, the private sector and civil society.
The US and South Africa are committed to facing the challenge together to give that one girl - and the tens of thousands just like her - a chance to realise her dream of an Aids-free future.
Will you join us in rewriting the future of South Africa?
* Motsoaledi is the minister of health and Gaspard is the US ambassador to South Africa.
** The views expressed here are not necessarily those of Independent Media.
Sunday Independent