amfAR Launches National PEPFAR Database at IAS 2015

amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research, announced the beta launch of its PEPFAR Country/Regional Operational Plan database, a comprehensive, navigable database of PEPFAR's planned funding of HIV/AIDS activities from 2007 to 2014. The database was unveiled at the 8th International AIDS Society Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention (IAS 2015) in Vancouver, Canada.

The database enables users to analyze planned funding data extracted from PEPFAR's publicly released Country and Regional Operational Plan (COP/ROP) documents. It's designed to help civil society organizations, ministries of health and finance, researchers, and other stakeholders to access and understand PEPFAR's programs and priorities at a deeper level than is currently possible using other platforms.

PEPFAR (The U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief), established in 2003, is the largest international program responding to the global HIV/AIDS epidemic and the largest commitment one nation has ever made to combat a disease internationally. Between 2007 and 2014, more than $29 billion has been budgeted in PEPFAR resources through the COPs/ROPs process.

"For the first time, we've been able to collate and organize publicly available data and present it in a way that enables users to look at key trends and shifting priorities," said Greg Millet, amfAR vice president and director of public policy. "We hope this will be a useful tool that enables a wide range of stakeholders to more effectively engage in the PEPFAR planning process and, in the long-term, help complement PEPFAR's efforts to better align planning and expenditure data."

The database, which can be found at http://copsdata.amfar.org, shows allocations by year, host country, primary partner, strategic area (Care, Treatment, Prevention, Governance and Systems, Management and Operations), budget code and organizational type. In addition, country epidemiological profiles and PEPFAR targets are available to provide context and to show the public health impact of investments.

By strategic area, PEPFAR allocations for treatment have scaled up since a low in 2012 to almost $1.3 billion in 2014. Care funding has likewise been increasing since 2012 to $730 million in 2014 and the number of people living with HIV that are at least partially supported on treatment by PEPFAR is now over 7 million globally.

"Analyzing data from Country Operational Plans or tracking allocations over time has historically been a cumbersome process due to the sheer size and formatting of individual COPs," said Brian Honermann, senior research advisor for amfAR and lead developer of the database. "This database shows not only trends, but also allows users to investigate who is being funded for what work in which country. Stakeholders will now have a wealth of extremely detailed information at their fingertips, and we'll update the database as more information becomes available."

The U.S. is the leading provider of international HIV assistance, accounting for almost half (49 percent) of all international HIV funding in 2012. PEPFAR is currently helping provide lifesaving HIV treatment to 7.7 million people, and has prevented countless infections among infants born to HIV-positive mothers in some of the hardest hit regions of the globe.

amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research, is one of the world's leading nonprofit organizations dedicated to the support of AIDS research, HIV prevention, treatment education, and the advocacy of sound AIDS-related public policy. Since 1985, amfAR has invested $415 million in its programs and has awarded grants to more than 3,300 research teams worldwide.

For more information, visit www.amfar.org.