More than 37 million dollars have already been invested in Brazil to benefit millions of Brazilians
Brasilia, September 29, 2023: The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) celebrated 20 years of partnership with the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz) and the Ministry of Health to improve the health of Brazilians during a ceremony last Thursday (28).
In these two decades, more than 37 million dollars have been invested in programs in Brazil to fight diseases. More than half of these funds have been directed towards tackling HIV/AIDS and are sourced from the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). PEPFAR activities focus on expanding access to HIV prevention, diagnosis, treatment and care interventions, including improvements in surveillance and monitoring and evaluation. Throughout these 20 years, Pepfar has contributed to the introduction of innovations in the Brazilian public health system, such as HIV self-testing, Tele-PrEP, automatic self-test dispensers and rapid circuit for advanced disease.
The cooperation agreement between the CDC and Fiocruz, which is renewed every five years, includes actions aimed not only at HIV, but also at other emerging diseases, depending on the pandemic or epidemic situation. Over 20 years of partnership, it has already been possible to develop initiatives aimed at tackling Zika Virus, tuberculosis, malaria and, more recently, Covid-19.
According to the Minister-Counselor of the U.S. Embassy, Colleen A. Hoey, “this extraordinary partnership goes beyond conventional cooperation; it signifies a deep commitment to improving health outcomes and protecting our populations from the far-reaching threats of infectious diseases”.
About the Pepfar program:
PEPFAR has saved the lives of over 25 million people around the world. The program is the largest U.S. commitment to tackle a single disease in the world; to date, its global funding has totaled more than $110 billion, including contributions to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, to which the U.S. government is the largest donor. US funding for PEPFAR has grown from 1.9 billion dollars in 2004 to 6.9 billion dollars in 2023.
