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MEDIA CENTER USAID Provides Population Council $65 Million for HIV/AIDS Operations Research WASHINGTON, DC (15 October 2002) —- The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has awarded the Population Council and its partners $65 million over the next five years. The funds will continue the work of the Horizons program, which since 1997 has carried out operations research with the goal of improving HIV/AIDS prevention, care, support, and treatment services in developing countries. “President Bush has made the fight against AIDS a priority of his administration,” said Dr. Anne Peterson, USAID’s assistant administrator for global health. “Operations research that identifies effective interventions and strategies to respond to HIV/AIDS is critical. Once we know what works, we can replicate and scale-up successful projects.” Operations research examines operational and cost-effectiveness issues surrounding the response to the pandemic. “We’ve learned a great deal about which behaviors place individuals at risk of HIV infection and what kinds of prevention and care approaches work, but we don’t yet understand all the operational mechanisms needed to implement successful interventions in the real world,” said Dr. Andrew Fisher, director of the Horizons program. “Operations research gives us the knowledge and tools to implement effective and affordable services in settings where resources are scarce.” To date, Horizons has carried out more than 60 research activities in 21 countries, focusing on such key issues as management of sexually transmitted infections; behavior change; care and support; community mobilization; stigma and discrimination; prevention of mother-to-child transmission; and more. They recently completed several groundbreaking studies that have global ramifications. Research on children affected by AIDS, conducted in Uganda, found that “succession planning”-helping families write wills, choose guardians, and prepare themselves emotionally before their parents die-could improve the well-being of millions of children facing orphan-hood in sub-Saharan Africa and elsewhere. Horizons also conducted a four-country study of the benefits and challenges of involving people living with HIV/AIDS as volunteers, staff, and managers in non-governmental service delivery organizations. The study generated recommendations that service providers were able to immediately implement to increase the participation of people living with HIV/AIDS. USAID plans to use the results to help design their AVERT program in Maharashtra State, India. One of Horizons’ largest studies, based among gold miners and sex workers in Carletonville, South Africa, is testing sexually transmitted infection interventions to improve prevention and treatment within these vulnerable and interwoven communities. These new hybrid programs involve peer education, condom promotion and delivery, and strengthened sexually transmitted infection management. Another important prevention and treatment study examines a package of services to prevent mother-to-child HIV transmission in Kenya and Zambia, where Horizons is working closely with the Kenyan and Zambian ministries of health, regional research institutions, and UNICEF. The additional funds from USAID will allow Horizons to expand its efforts at a stage in the epidemic when operations research is of critical importance. In the next five years, Horizons research will include expanding access to treatment, care, and support; scaling-up of successful interventions; and intensifying programs for youth. The Horizons program is implemented by the Population Council in partnership with the International Center for Research on Women, the International HIV/AIDS Alliance, Program for Appropriate Technology in Health, Tulane University, Family Health International, and Johns Hopkins University. Horizons also collaborates with dozens of research institutions, universities, and non-governmental organizations in the countries where they work to rigorously test innovative approaches to HIV prevention and care. Research findings are disseminated globally to help programmers, service providers, and policymakers design effective programs and allocate funds where they can have the greatest impact on the epidemic. More information about Horizons research activities and findings is available at www.popcouncil.org/horizons. USAID is the world’s leader in providing funding to fight the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Since 1986, it has provided more than $2.3 billion for prevention, care, and treatment programs in over 50 countries around the world. More information about USAID’s HIV/AIDS programs is available at www.usaid.gov.
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