SIECUS PEPFAR COUNTRY PROFILES

This publication includes individual profiles of the 15 countries receiving HIV/AIDS-related aid under the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR): Botswana, Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia,Guyana, Haiti, Kenya, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa,Tanzania, Uganda,Viet Nam, and Zambia.These country profiles are intended as a concise guide and resource for policymakers in each country — including the U.S.— as well as educators, service providers, health professionals, and others who are advocating for young people’s sexual and reproductive health and rights.We also hope that young people in each of the countries will be able to use this information to advocate on their own behalf for the information and services to which they are entitled.

Each PEPFAR Country Profile includes the following information:

1. a brief description of the social, political, and economic context of the country
2. the state of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the country, including its impact on young people and other issues threatening their sexual and reproductive health
3. related statistical data
4. an overview of the country’s current national strategic plan on HIV/AIDS, with a focus on its approach to HIV prevention for young people, and other national policy related to young people’s sexual and reproductive health
5. the country’s adoption of key international agreements on young people’s sexual and reproductive health and rights
6. a chart listing PEPFAR-specific funding in Fiscal Year 2004 (when available) and planned funding for Fiscal Year 2005
7. a partial list of organizations receiving money through PEPFAR to provide prevention programming focused on abstinence and faithfulness
8. details of the mission or programming of these organizations (when available)
9. information about abstinence promotion activities being carried out in addition to those tied to PEPFAR funding, with special attention to U.S.-based organizations working to institute abstinence-until-marriage programs
10. contact information for the U.S. diplomatic mission to each country
11. listing and contact information (where available), for the major in-country agencies or other government bodies charged with addressing HIV/AIDS policy and programming

We encourage colleague organizations and supporters of sexual health promotion initiatives, including comprehensive sexuality education, to use SIECUS PEPFAR Country Profiles in their advocacy efforts geared toward legislators, policymakers, and other leaders on the international, national, state, and local levels. For example, you may use your country’s profile to bring policymaker attention to PEPFAR-funded abstinence promotion programs or to raise awareness of the growth of such programs in your state or community.

SIECUS PEPFAR Country Profiles can also be an important tool for educating the media and garnering media attention on the need for evidencebased, culturally appropriate HIV/AIDS prevention. For example, a country’s profile might serve as the basis of information for a “letter to the editor” about abstinence-until-marriage programs or as a comprehensive background document for a press briefing on prevention efforts in your country.

SIECUS is committed to helping advocates worldwide secure policies and programs that are based on evaluation and sound science and that protect and promote internationally recognized human rights.We hope that this publication will be of great value in such efforts.Together, we can and must create policies that support the best programs for our young people.

It is not necessary to seek SIECUS’ permission to reprint portions of this publication as we hope that you will photocopy and distribute these Profiles widely. If you wish to access profiles for individual countries in a printer-friendly format, please visit SIECUS’ website at www.siecus.org.

Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions or would like additional suggestions on how the PEPFAR Country Profiles can help you advocate for comprehensive, age-appropriate, medically accurate sexuality education.

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