On Jan. 26, 2003, President Bush, in his State of the Union Address, announced the Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) to combat global HIV/AIDS. PEPFAR marked a significant increase in funding and attention to the epidemic.

U.S. funding for PEPFAR grew from $2.2 billion in FY 2004 to $7.0 billion in FY 2022. HIV, the virus that causes AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome), has become one of the worldﾒs most serious health and development challenges. Today, there are approximately 37.7 million people living with HIV, and tens of millions of people have died of AIDS-related causes since the beginning of the epidemic.