U.S. Ambassador to Namibia Thomas Daughton and USAID Representative to Namibia Brian Fink joined the Minister in Charge of the National Planning Commission, the Honorable Tom Alweendo, on July 14 to sign an amendment to the USAID Health Strategic Objective Agreement (SOAG). The amendment adds an additional US$10,327,226 of funding for HIV/AIDS Treatment Acceleration in Namibia. These funds are part of a two-year commitment from the U.S. Government to allocate an additional US$34,000,000 to the already planned and funded programming of the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) in Namibia.
With the funds added today to the SOAG, PEPFAR will work closely with the Government of the Republic of Namibia and other key partners to achieve HIV epidemic control in seven regions, including Zambezi, Kavango, Omusati, Oshikoto, Ohangwena, Otjozondjupa, and Khomas. PEPFAR will also focus on eight hotspots with the highest burden of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLHIV) and a high unmet need for antiretroviral therapy (ART).
PEPFAR will accelerate provision of lifesaving antiretroviral treatment and support the Government of Namibia and other partners to address the treatment gap of more than 24,000 PLHIV. PEPFAR will also fill critical gaps in order to expand access to and improve quality of ART and other related essential HIV services with the goal of achieving a treatment coverage target of 80 percent.
The majority of this additional funding will help to accelerate enrollment on ART among key patient populations through support for additional human resources, direct provision of services, supply chain and procurement logistics, monitoring and evaluation, and renovations and improvements to facilities.
This fourteenth amendment since 2007 increases USAID’s Health Strategic Objective Agreement with the Government of the Republic of Namibia to fight HIV/AIDS to US$244,673,611.
