Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria have helped save millions of lives. They have succeeded in part by encouraging recipient countries to take the lead and by involving civil society in their efforts. In 2000, the UN adopted eight Millennium Development Goals, one of which aimed to reduce child mortality by two-thirds between 1991 and 2015.

Data are about much more than a collection of facts and figures; they enable us to do more with each dollar we invest -- reaching more individuals, families, and communities with life-saving care and support services. This week, at the Financing for Development Conference, PEPFAR was proud to build on this commitment and introduce new ways we are using and sharing data to achieve an AIDS-free generation.

Deborah Birx, Ambassador-at-Large and Coordinator of the United States Government Activities to Combat HIV and AIDS says her government has rolled out programmes and projects to ensure AIDs-free generation, targeting young women, in Sub- Saharan Africa.

This Mother's Day, we are reminded once again that mothers are the cornerstone of our communities.  This is an important time to celebrate the exceptional women around the world who strive to keep families and communities together, and sacrifice to ensure the next generation has every opportunity to pursue its dreams. 

Health agencies are warning of an “alarming” increase in AIDS-related deaths among adolescents, a new front line in the fight against a global epidemic that has waned in recent years. This worrying new trend is a setback for efforts to eradicate the virus, according to a United Nations report released ahead of World AIDS Day on Dec. 1. Among youth aged 10 to 19, deaths linked to AIDS increased by 50 percent between 2005 and 2012, compared with a 30 percent decline seen in the general population.

Since 2004, the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) has funded HIV/AIDS prevention, care and treatment programs credited with extending the lives of millions of people in sub-Saharan Africa, including South Africa, which has received the majority of PEPFAR funding, reaching more than $500 million annually. In a place where a positive diagnosis of HIV/AIDS used to be a death sentence, America brought hope for longer lives.