*EPF511 06/28/2002
Text: USAID Funds HIV/AIDS Prevention, Education Effort
(Extends AIDSMark program until 2007) (640)

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is awarding $90 million to the nongovernmental organization Population Services International, allowing continued operations of the HIV/AIDS prevention and education program AIDSMark.

The program has been in operation since 1997 in 29 countries, dedicated to disease prevention, counseling and testing services. New funding for the continuation of AIDSMark will help expand services into new areas such as the prevention of mother-to-child transmission, and education programs to delay the debut of sexual activity in youth.

"The services they provide are a critical element in our fight against HIV/AIDS," said Dr. Anne Peterson, director of USAID's Bureau of Global Health.

Following is the text of a USAID press release:

(begin text)

U.S. AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
June 27, 2002

USAID PROVIDES POPULATION SERVICES INTERNATIONAL $90 MILLION FOR HIV/AIDS PREVENTION

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Agency for International Development announced today it has awarded Population Services International $90 million over the next five years to expand social marketing programs that are designed to curb the spread of HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections.

USAID first awarded Population Services International (PSI) $75 million in 1997 to begin AIDSMark, an HIV/AIDS prevention program. Today's announcement will extend the program until 2007.

"We are pleased to continue our partnership with Population Services International's AIDSMark program," said Dr. Anne Peterson, who runs USAID's Bureau for Global Health. "The services they provide are a critical element in our fight against HIV/AIDS."

AIDSMark collaborates with USAID and other international donors, host governments, non-governmental organizations and commercial enterprises to launch new and expand current social marketing programs.

"This will allow AIDSMark to accelerate engagement of private sector forces in the fight against HIV/AIDS worldwide," said Richard A. Frank, president of PSI. "The next phase of USAID's support will allow PSI to build on successes with behavior change communication, voluntary counseling and testing, condom social marketing and expand newer strategies such as the prevention of mother-to-child transmission, delay of sexual debut among youth and the franchising of services to treat sexually transmitted infections."

In order to increase the impact of its social marketing activities, AIDSMark envisions a number of activities during the next five-year phase, including:

-- Collaborating with other key partners to develop social marketing models for the prevention of mother-to-child transmission. AIDSMark has already started in Haiti where it is now delivering prevention of mother-to-child transmission products and services

--Promoting voluntary HIV counseling and testing so that people have the information they need to make informed decisions about their behavior. AIDSMark's voluntary counseling and testing program in Zimbabwe has increased its monthly client flow from 230 to more than 4,000 in only three years. .

--Developing communications strategies that address barriers to HIV/AIDS prevention on a regional or global basis. This is already happening in southern Africa where AIDSMark is developing a pan-African campaign addressing key obstacles to behavior change, such as trust in one's partner.

AIDSMark operates in 29 countries, all of which include PSI's traditional focus on condom social marketing. In addition, 14 AIDSMark programs deliver voluntary counseling and testing services, and three offer sexually transmitted infection (STI) services. Population Services International is a non-profit organization based in Washington, D.C., with social marketing projects in almost 60 countries.

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. For more information on USAID's HIV/AIDS programs, see www.usaid.gov

U.S. Agency for International Development is the government agency that has provided humanitarian assistance and economic development worldwide for more than 40 years.

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(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

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