For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
September 27, 2003
Fact Sheet HIV/AIDS
U.S.-Russian HIV/AIDS Cooperation Initiative
The United States and the Russian Federation have worked together
for years to combat the HIV/AIDS threat. The leaders of both countries
have agreed to intensify this cooperation to emphasize joint research,
program implementation, and public-private cooperation.
New Research Initiative: This initiative will have two phases:
identify opportunities for collaboration between Russian and US
scientists, and a grant competition to support meritorious biomedical
and behavioral research on topics identified in the workshops.
HHS Activities: The Biotechnology Engagement Program (BTEP) is
working closely with the State Department's Bioindustry Initiative and
the International Science and Technology Center in Moscow to patent and
commercialize promising results from their collaborative efforts.
Collaborations between the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and
Russian institutes include vaccine development, treatment of HIV
infection, treatment and prevention of opportunistic infections, and
development of behavioral and social prevention approaches for
vulnerable populations.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) collaborate
with Russian counterparts an integrated behavioral risk assessment
among different population groups; an evaluation of factors influencing
health risks and health-seeking behaviors; and diagnostic test
training.
USAID Efforts: The U.S. Agency for International Development's
strategy focuses on decreasing the transmission of HIV/AIDS among
high-risk groups and preventing its spread to the general population
through behavior change communication, HIV/AIDS policy dialogue,
voluntary counseling and testing, data collection and use, and
capacity-building.
Public-Private Partnerships: The Transatlantic Partners Against
AIDS (TPAA), a non-governmental organization that combats the rapid and
devastating spread of HIV/AIDS in Russia and neighboring countries,
sponsored the U.S.-Russia Business and Labor Summit on AIDS on
September 25, 2003. At this meeting, high-level business, labor and
political leaders discussed the surging HIV/AIDS epidemic in Russia and
explored ways the business and labor community can address the crisis.
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