People in India hold their hands out to an AIDS red ribbon.

Credit: Uppili Venkat Ragavan, Courtesy of Photoshare

In honor of World AIDS Day, December 1, we look back at the impact that the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), and our implementing partners have had worldwide. USAID as a result of PEPFAR has:

• Supported lifesaving antiretroviral treatment for more than 9.5 million people and HIV counseling and testing for more than 68.2 million people
• Supported more than 14.7 million pregnant women with HIV testing and counseling
• 190,000 healthcare workers trained to provide HIV/AIDS care and treatment
• 447,000 children receiving treatment through the Accelerating Children's HIV/AIDS Treatment (ACT) Initiative
• Supported more than 8.9 million voluntary medical male circumcision procedures in eastern and southern Africa

While the global community has made significant strides in the fight against HIV and AIDS, further action is needed to end the epidemic. This past September, at the United Nations General Assembly, President Barack Obama announced bold and aggressive targets for 2016 and 2017 under PEPFAR. The Time to Act Is Now to achieve an AIDS-free generation.

• Learn more about USAID's World AIDS Day commemoration.
• Read the blog post, Why Right Now is the Right Time to Act Faster to Stop Unnecessary HIV/AIDS Deaths by Emily Reitenauer, Program Assistant for the Gender Team in the Technical Leadership Division of the Office of HIV/AIDS in the Global Health Bureau

USAID Photo Contest Winner: The rapid scale-up of Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV (PMTCT) services in Zimbabwe has produced significant results. Babies like Takunda, who are born to HIV-positive mothers, are free of the virus.

Credit: Organisation for Public Health Interventions and Development (OPHID Trust)

Congratulations to Our 2015 World AIDS Day Photo Contest Winner!

We had an unprecedented number of submissions to our World AIDS Day Photo Contest this year. Submitters were asked to represent the theme of "The Time to Act Is Now." Congratulations to the Organisation for Public Health Interventions and Development (OPHID Trust) for their winning submission (featured above). Thanks to everyone who submitted photos!

• See more of our photo contest entries.
• Browse through our Office of HIV/AIDS Flickr photos.

USAID Photo Contest First Runner Up: Sexual and Reproductive Health Field Trainee Prudence practices the procedure for testing for HIV at the Stage 2 Clinic in Samfya, Zambia. She receives training on sexual reproductive health issues in order to help protect herself and share this information with other youth in her community.

Credit: Adriane Ohanesian/VSO

Fast-Tracking the End of the Epidemic

The global community is diligently working together to achieve an AIDS-free generation. Partnerships between governments, civil society, public and private-sector groups, and local communities are striving to implement the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) Fast-Track Strategy to achieve its 90-90-90 targets and end the HIV and AIDS epidemic by 2030.

Recently, the World Health Organization (WHO) released new recommendations for a "treat-all" approach, in which the WHO removes all limitations on eligibility for antiretroviral therapy (ART) among people living with HIV, recommending that all populations and age groups are now eligible for treatment.

This past September, at the United Nations General Assembly, President Barack Obama announced bold targets for 2016 and 2017 under PEPFAR. By the end of 2017, PEPFAR will:

• Support 12.9 million people on life-saving anti-retroviral treatment
• Provide 13 million voluntary male medical circumcisions for HIV prevention
• Reduce HIV incidence by 40 percent among adolescent girls and young women within the highest-burden areas of 10 sub-Saharan African countries
• Support a total of 12.9 million children, pregnant women receiving B+, and adults on life-saving antiretroviral treatment, of which 8.5 million are directly supported by PEPFAR funding and 4.4 million are supported through technical assistance, jointly with partner countries
• Jointly support 18.5 million men, women, and children on life-saving treatment in partnership with Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (Global Fund) and partner country resources

To learn more about global efforts to achieve an AIDS-free generation, see the resources below:

• Learn more about the PEPFAR new targets [PDF, 282 KB]
• Explore the UNAIDS Fast-Track Strategy
• Read the new UNAIDS Fast-Track Report
• Explore the new WHO Guidelines
• Read AIDS.gov's blog about World AIDS Day

LINKAGES Event on December 4

LINKAGES is PEPFAR and USAID's largest global project dedicated to key populations: sex workers, men who have sex with men, people who inject drugs, and transgender people. On December 4, 2015, LINKAGES will host a thought leadership event titled "Key Population Data for Decision-Making" in Washington, DC. This annual event is convened in recognition of World AIDS Day and International Human Rights Day. This year's event will focus on the critical topic of safe and appropriate collection, management, release, and use of data to improve HIV programs for key populations. Speakers and panelists will be coming from a range of organizations, including USAID, the Office of the Global AIDS Coordinator, the World Bank, FHI 360, UNAIDS, The Global Fund, UNAIDS, WHO, and others.

• Learn more about the event
• Review the agenda [PDF, 282 KB] for the event, including all presenters and speakers
• Register for the event
• Visit the LINKAGES project page

USAID Photo Contest Second Runner Up: Adolescents celebrate World AIDS Day on a sports field outside the Baphalali Red Cross center in Mbabane, Swaziland. Entertainment is an important component for engaging the community about HIV and other family health issues on special community days.

Credit: Eric Bond/Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation

Learn More About World AIDS Day

• Watch the livestream of the White House's World AIDS Day event today, 1:00 pm-3:15 pm (ET).
• Watch U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator Ambassador Deborah Birx's World AIDS Day Message
• Check out USAID's partnerships and projects in HIV and AIDS
• Learn about USAID's HIV and AIDS technical areas
• Discover more about the new global HIV and AIDS prevention and treatment targets

Credit: Ilsa Diasty/ World Relief Indonesia

How YOU Can Get Involved

• Visit aidsfree.usaid.gov to see Emmy-award-winning filmmaker Lisa Russell's new documentary It's About the People on the success of Jhpiego's Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision (VMMC) efforts in Tanzania
• Contribute to the World AIDS Day conversation by downloading our social media toolkit [PDF, 469 KB]
• Learn how you can take action on World AIDS Day, through resources on aids.gov
• Join the conversation by using #AIDSFreeGen and #WAD2015 on your social media platforms
• Blog about World AIDS Day or comment on someone else's blog to share your thoughts