Tomorrow, on World AIDS Day, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) will celebrate the 15th anniversary of the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief - PEPFAR. USAID has been a proud implementer of PEPFAR since President George W. Bush launched it in 2003.

While HIV/AIDS has taken more than 35 million lives, today the disease is no longer a death sentence. Fifteen years ago, when it seemed no generation would be left untouched, we could not have imagined that today a number of countries in sub-Saharan Africa would be on the brink of controlling their HIV/AIDS epidemics - a critical step in tackling one of the greatest development challenges of our time.

The U.S. Government, through PEPFAR, has supported more than 14.6 million men, women and children on HIV treatment globally, and 95 million people who have have received counselling and testing for the disease. More than 2.4 million babies have been born HIV-free to HIV-positive mothers, and more than 6.8 million orphans, vulnerable children and their caregivers have received care and support.

Without the generosity of the American people, and our outstanding global partnerships, meeting such historic milestones would not have been possible. As Vice President Mike Pence said at an event at the White House yesterday, PEPFAR "is the largest investment of any nation to respond to a single disease in human history...it has been inarguably one of the most successful investment in healthcare and humanitarian aid in American history. "

Thanks to PEPFAR's extensive testing and counseling services, millions of people in the world can now choose to know their HIV/AIDS status, and thousands of men, women and adolescents can now remain infection-free through pre-exposure prophylaxis. Our work with the medical community and universities around the world means that we bring to PEPFAR-supported countries the most efficacious and affordable anti-retroviral drugs. Finally, our partnerships with faith-based organizations extends the reach of care and treatment to even the most-isolated communities. Such commitment is the cornerstone of our faith-based partnerships and the reason we seek to enhance them.