U.S. Department of State: Statement by Ambassador Deborah L. Birx and Dr. Angeli Achrekar on PEPFAR’s Decisive Action in the Context of COVID-19
Deborah L. Birx, U.S. global AIDS coordinator & U.S. special representative for global health diplomacy, and Angeli Achrekar, principal deputy U.S. global AIDS coordinator, released a statement of behalf of PEPFAR discussing the program’s COVID-19 response. They write, “The U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) is deeply committed to continuing global progress toward controlling the HIV epidemic — country by country, community by community. As we join the world in confronting the unique challenges posed by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), we are dedicated to doing what is needed to serve, support, and protect our clients, communities, staff, and partners around the world. To advance these efforts, PEPFAR is taking decisive action in the following four priority areas. Ensuring continuity of care for people living with HIV … Leveraging PEPFAR-supported health systems and infrastructure … Reducing exposure of staff and clients to health care settings that may be overburdened and/or sources for potential exposure to COVID-19 … Providing flexibility for our programs in how to optimally serve our HIV clients in areas affected by COVID-19…” (3/23).