PEPFAR: Prevention, Care and Treatment

MHRP has been a leader in implementing cutting-edge HIV programming since 2003. Our PEPFAR-supported activities follow the UNAIDS 95-95-95 clinical cascade, expand access to evidence-based HIV prevention, care and treatment interventions and build local capacity. MHRP employs strategies that contribute to local capacity building and sustainability in the countries where we operate.

MHRP provides a range of life-saving services including HIV counseling and targeted testing including index testing, provision of antiretroviral treatment, pre-exposure prophylaxis, voluntary medical male circumcision, prevention of mother to child transmission, early infant diagnosis, and viral load testing, among other areas. Our PEPFAR programs support services for vulnerable populations including children, adolescent girls and young women (AGYW), men and other key populations. 

MHRP also implements the Determined, Resilient, Empowered, AIDS-free, Mentored, and Safe (DREAMS) program, an innovative public-private partnership that has proven effective in reducing HIV diagnoses in adolescent girls and young women by at least 25 percent in many high-burden countries including Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.  

By integrating PEPFAR prevention, care and treatment programs with research, MHRP has created a vibrant synergy. The integration enhances clinical research and has enabled MHRP to build strong and trusting relationships within the communities where research is conducted and effective HIV services are implemented. 

These evidence-based interventions help drive effective, efficient and sustainable health care systems. These investments create a more resilient health system for partner countries to confront current and future health challenges and increased global health security and stability helps protect American interests and Service Members. 

All MRHP activities in Africa are conducted under WRAIR-Africa, which is located on the campus of the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) in Nairobi. MHRP’s military-to-military PEPFAR programs work with counterparts in Kenya, Tanzania and Nigeria and are conducted in collaboration with the Department of Defense HIV/AIDS Prevention Program (DHAPP).

In 2021, military to military PEPFAR activities expanded in the Philippines through the Armed Forces Research Institute for Medical Sciences (AFRIMS) under the auspices of DHAPP. AFRIMS, a Special Foreign Activity of WRAIR, has been working in the Philippines since 2011 and has an established relationship with the Armed Forces of the Philippines.