More than 40 years after the first cases were reported in 1981, many still ask that question—if they even think about it at all. AIDS is virtually absent from the news today, and because multiple global programs have worked for at least two decades to end the pandemic that so devastated the globe in the 1980s and 1990s, most assume it is gone. But is it?
This website will provide data that explains the history and extent of today’s HIV/AIDS pandemic, proven interventions that have slowed its spread and interrupted transmission, and highlight tools we have to finally end the pandemic by 2030.
Please engage with us to understand the history, the amazing progress achieved and the future of global efforts to end the HIV/AIDS pandemic today and into the future.
In his World AIDS Day 2024 remarks, Ambassador John Nkengasong addressed the theme, “Collective Action: Sustain and Accelerate HIV Progress,” saying we cannot let up on countering an infectious disease that has taken the lives of 42 million people—and for which there is no vaccine or cure. Highlighted PEPFAR life-saving achievements include:
“If we are to end HIV/AIDS as a public health threat by 2030,” Nkengasong said, “it will be the communities most impacted by the pandemic that will lead us.. . .Sustaining an effective HIV response requires continued bipartisan support at home and increasing programmatic ownership from PEPFAR supported countries. . .A clean, five-year reauthorization of PEPFAR will enable the program to cement a great American-led triumph over one of the most challenging viruses humanity has every encountered and enable a smooth transition to country-led programs with government accountability and community leadership at their core.”
