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Saturday, April 14, 2007

SUMMARY OF THE PROCEEDINGS OF MEETING ON ‘ALCOHOL, HIV RISK BEHAVIOURS AND TRANSMISSION IN AFRICA: DEVELOPING PROGRAMMEMES FOR THE UNITED STATES PRESIDENT’S EMERGENCY PLAN FOR AIDS RELIEF (PEPFAR)’

African Journal of Drug & Alcohol Studies, 5(2), 2006


In response to growing concern among public health experts about alcohol use and HIV in Africa, several U.S. government (USG) agencies, including the Department of Health and Human Services/Centres for Disease Control and Prevention/Global AIDS Programme (HHS/CDC/GAP), the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), the Department of Defense (DoD) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) hosted a meeting in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, 30-31 August 2005, "Alcohol, HIV Risk Behaviours and Transmission in Africa: Developing Programmes for the United States President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR)."

The primary objective of the meeting was to provide scientific and programmatic updates on alcohol-related HIV risk behaviours and transmission in Africa and to inform the development of PEPFAR programming. PEPFAR is a 5- year, US$15 billion initiative intended to support treatment for 2 million HIV positive patients with antiretroviral drugs (ARVs), to prevent 7 million new cases of HIV/AIDS and to care for 10 million patients suffering with AIDS. HIV prevention and treatment initiatives which address alcohol abuse and increase adherence to ARV treatment have the potential to contribute to PEPFAR’s goals.

This article summarizes the major technical issues and key points raised in the meeting which included presentations in several key areas: epidemiology and ethnography of alcohol and alcohol-related risk factors for HIV transmission; prevention and treatment of HIV in the context of alcohol use; and approaches to policy and partnership designed to promote the exchange of resources and knowledge related to programmes addressing alcohol use and
HIV/AIDS risk behaviours.

Finally, the meeting sought to strengthen partnerships between USG agencies implementing PEPFAR and multi-sectoral organizations, including faith based communities, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), community-based organizations (CBOs), uniformed services, and the alcohol industry to support HIV prevention interventions.

The meeting benefited from a diverse range of experts and participants from across the region and the United States including USG PEPFAR-implementationstaff, host-country government staff, alcohol and substance abuse specialists, researchers on alcohol and on HIV/ AIDS, policy experts, community-based programme managers, and communicatione experts.

Representatives of the military and the alcohol industry from across the region also participated and expressed commitment as partners in addressing the issue of alcohol abuse. Approximately 80 participants from 13 African countries participated in the technical meeting.

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