This is PFSCM’s 11th year commemorating World AIDS Day. We have come a long way since 2005 in helping to ensure essential commodities are affordable and readily accessible to those who need them.
In 2005, an HIV diagnosis was still a death sentence for many people in developing countries. Now, around 55% of adults living with HIV have gained access to antiretroviral (ARV) medication. To reach the UNAIDS “90-90-90” targets by 2020 and reduce the HIV epidemic to a low-level endemic disease by 2030, the number of people living with HIV and on ARV treatment must rise from the current level to close to 30 million by 2020. Those who start treatment early are expected to live a normal lifespan.
2016 marked many accomplishments of the people, organizations, and countries engaged in the fight against AIDS. Consider these notable highlights:
- AIDS-related deaths have fallen 45% since the peak in 2005.
- New HIV infections among children have declined by 50% since 2010.
- More than 18.2 million people are accessing ARV therapy. 9.2 million of them are receiving ARV treatment through Global Fund-supported programs, with steady increases each year.
- PEPFAR is supporting lifesaving ARV treatment for more than 9.5 million men, women, and children worldwide. In 2015, SCMS procured 80 percent of all ARVs directly funded by PEPFAR.
- PEPFAR has directly supported 8.9 million voluntary medical male circumcision procedures (VMMC) for HIV prevention, assisted in large part by SCMS deliveries of VMMC kits. By pooling procurement across many countries and buying in large volumes, SCMS negotiated a 30% reduction in VMMC kit prices since they were first procured.
We are tremendously proud of the work PFSCM has done to assist in the fight against AIDS — on behalf of the US Government through the Supply Chain Management System (SCMS); on behalf of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria thr0ugh its Pooled Procurement Mechanism (PPM); and on behalf of all our other clients and collaborators.
- Through SCMS and PPM, PFSCM has procured $4.78 billion of lifesaving commodities — ARVs, essential medicines, laboratory commodities, and more.
- PFSCM delivered these commodities to 91 countries, including some of the hardest-to-reach places in the world.
- PFSCM has contributed to driving down ARV costs per patient from $1,500 in 2005 to as low as $80-$90 today.
- We have also helped 41 countries build the capacity of their supply chains, working to make them sustainable and to increase local ownership.
- Looking forward, today PFSCM launches a new web site focused on how we contribute to the ambitious targets for tackling HIV and AIDS and support other health supply chains through innovation and high-quality performance. You can see the new site here: www.pfscm.org
Today, on World AIDS Day, we celebrate the achievements of PFSCM’s supply chain heroes and the many, many individuals dedicated to the fight against AIDS. Tomorrow, we get back to work. There is no time to lose and much left to do if we are to meet the ambitious goals of the global community to turn the tide and defeat AIDS by 2030. Achieving an AIDS-free generation requires dedication, planning, daring, and innovation, continuing onward from today.
With our best wishes,
Richard C. Owens, Jr. Gordon Comstock
Director Director, Global Supply Chain