Seventeen years ago, when the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) began, HIV was a death sentence in many parts of the world.  Now, we have the opportunity to control this disease for which there is no vaccine or cure.  December 1, World AIDS Day, we remember those who have been lost, celebrate the progress made together and rededicate ourselves to work still to be done.   

PEPFAR works through Malian partners providing HIV testing, getting those who test positive onto medication, and helping them stay on it until they achieve viral load suppression, a key indicator for healthy living with HIV.  The United States has saved more than 18 million lives worldwide and prevented millions of HIV infections.  Working together with our partners in 54 countries, we have moved the HIV/AIDS pandemic from crisis toward control. 

PEPFAR is harnessing innovative new technologies in Mali.  The point-of-service smartphone and tablet eTracker app does away with paperwork and gives health workers direct access to Mali’s national HIV case management database. 

The United States is also partnering with UNICEF to build on UN investment in testing machines that allow health workers to do HIV testing at the point-of-care.  In just the past year, PEPFAR in Mali has nearly doubled its commitment to over $9 million annually and expanded to 23 health districts and 101 community health centers.

Investments in Mali through PEPFAR and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) strengthen the systems that drive effective, efficient, resilient and sustainable health care.  Beyond HIV, these efforts better equip partner countries like Mali to improve lives and confront other health challenges such as COVID-19.