THE United States President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) will host a contest to highlight the contributions of outstanding individuals or organisations in the global fight against HIV/AIDS. The ‘Heroes Save Lives: PEPFAR Heroes, Going Above and Beyond’ competition is inviting nominations of individuals and groups who have profoundly affected the AIDS community through their work with HIV/AIDS programmes supported by the U.S., a release from its Georgetown Embassy said.
The release said it would recognise those who serve affected and infected HIV/AIDS patients.
To nominate an individual or organisation, their nomination packets should be submitted, containing their profiles, to the Public Affairs Assistant – PEPFAR, Embassy of the United States of America, Georgetown, through the Young Street, Kingston entrance.
Any electronic information must be submitted on a CD, the advisory said, adding that entries close on Friday, March 19.
It said the top heroes will be highlighted through success stories, website features, exhibits and other avenues and those selected will have theirs showcased at the International AIDS Conference in Vienna, Austria and posted on PEPFAR.gov and YouTube.
Launched in 2003, PEPFAR is the largest effort by any nation to combat a single disease and it has achieved remarkable success in expanding access to HIV prevention, care and treatment in low resource settings, the Embassy said.
As of September 30, 2009, PEPFAR directly supported antiretroviral treatment for more than 2.4 million people, said the release.
According to it, in 2009 alone, PEPFAR directly supported more than 11 million people with care and support programmes and, throughout its history, has aided prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT), allowing nearly 340,000 babies of HIV positive mothers to be born HIV free.