From July 17-20, 2011, PSI will join thousands of the world’s most prominent scientists, public health experts, clinicians and community leaders to mark the 6th International AIDS Society Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention. Held every two years, the conference attracts 5,000 delegates from around the world and is the largest open scientific conference on HIV/AIDS.
PSI staff will present five posters and two oral presentations on its work addressing HIV prevention, care and treatment. PSI’s Director of Programs in PACE Uganda, Milly Kaggwa, will also be receiving an award for her poster entitled, “Preventing HIV Infection among young girls by addressing Cross Generational Sex (CGS) in Secondary Schools in Uganda.”
In 2009, there were 2.6 million new HIV infections worldwide and 33 million people living with the virus. An estimated 1.8 million people died of AIDS in the same year. Sub-Saharan Africa continues to bear the greatest burden of HIV infection, with 69 percent of all new infections and 72 percent of AIDS deaths.
Throughout the world, those living on the margins of society – sex workers, youth, migrants, men who have sex with men and injecting drug users are often most at risk for HIV infection. Resources for testing and treatment are typically unavailable to these stigmatized populations.
Using innovative and evidence-based prevention interventions, PSI is committed to improving the health of these vulnerable populations. In 2010 alone, PSI prevented 177,000 HIV infections. PSI programs include the distribution of male and female condoms, lubricants and sterile injecting equipment. PSI also works with local health care providers to promote and supply HIV testing and counseling, male circumcision and sexually-transmitted infection (STI) services. Additionally, PSI works to improve awareness through media campaigns which seek to empower and inform populations at risk of HIV infection. Partnerships with local health ministries, as well as the distribution of HIV prevention products in clinics, pharmacies, bars, hotels and brothels have expanded access to these potentially life-saving supplies.
PSI has been a leader in the effort to scale up voluntary male circumcision services. Recent findings have shown that male circumcision services can reduce the risk of female-to-male sexual transmission of HIV by up to 60%.
PSI and its partners currently assist governments in seven countries – Botswana, Kenya, Mozambique, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe – to increase voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC) demand and uptake and to provide technical support for service delivery. Since 2007, PSI-supported programs have provided VMMC services to over 135,000 men and adolescent boys – 22 percent of the approximately 609,000 males circumcised in the region to date. During the first half of 2011 alone, PSI and its respective national partners have already provided more than 37,000 VMMCs. As a result, these countries are demonstrating that quality, scale and speed are not mutually exclusive goals in HIV prevention. The bedrock of success behind these scale-up efforts has been a sustained commitment to communication and efficiency.
In Zimbabwe this year, a PSI-designed campaign resulted in overwhelming demand for male circumcision services. More than 7,000 adolescents and young men were circumcised during the “Be Smart, Get Circumcised” campaign, led by the Ministry of Health & Child Welfare (MOHCW), National AIDS Council and Ministry of Education, and coordinated by PSI/Zimbabwe. Additional support and funding were provided by PEPFAR, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, local NGOs and the Zimbabwe Uniformed Forces.
PSI currently works to prevent HIV infection in more than 60 countries in Africa, Latin America, Eastern Europe and Asia. More than 14.7 billion condoms have been distributed to high-risk populations in order to reach individuals of all income levels.
