Peace Corps Volunteers around the world work in partnership with host country and local governments to enhance the capacity of organizations from the community to the national level, ultimately promoting an understanding of the epidemic and encouraging the adoption of healthier behaviors.

The Peace Corps’ largest external partnership is with the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). With the inception of PEPFAR in 2003, the Peace Corps’ efforts became part of a coordinated U.S. government response to the disease and have played a unique role in targeting hard-to-reach populations and instituting change through sustainable community efforts.

The Peace Corps’ role in PEPFAR took on heightened significance in 2012 with the launch of the “PEPFAR Blueprint: Creating an AIDS-Free Generation.” The blueprint was an international triumph, marking a turning point in the response to the disease. As we move toward an AIDS-free generation, the Peace Corps continues to do its part.

PEPFAR 3.0—a strategy focused on transparency, accountability for impact, and accelerating core interventions for epidemic control—was released on World AIDS Day 2014. PEPFAR 3.0 places a strong focus on doing the right things in the right places at the right time—right now.

For the Peace Corps, HIV is a cross-sector program priority, meaning that HIV prevention, care, and support activities are mainstreamed across the Peace Corps’ six program sectors and Volunteers work to improve community health and mitigate the effects of HIV around the world.

Our 2015 results

• In 2015, over 750 PEPFAR-funded Volunteers focused on building target-group HIV knowledge and skills through camps, clubs, Grassroot Soccer, and in-school programs; mobilizing target populations; and strengthening linkages to care and key services.
• In the past year, more than 1,000 of all Peace Corps Volunteers reported involvement in HIV prevention messaging activities, reaching a total of 172,426 individuals in 60-plus countries.

Read more about the plan at President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).