The Field Band Foundation received funding for the second time from the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). This is granted for a period of two years, October 2017 to October 2019. It is going to be more focus in this particular topic (HIV/AIDS). A new task that PULSE have been given, and will be working on in the time to come, is developing activities regarding HIV/AIDS. PULSE will also make a plan for implementation and on how the bands will report that they are actually doing these activities. The goal is that the HIV/AIDS – activities are implemented as an addition to the life skills topics that the staff is teaching the band members every month.

“PEPFAR is the largest commitment by any nation toward a single disease. Since its inception in 2003, PEPFAR has received strong bipartisan support in Congress and through administrations. Working in over 60 countries, PEPFAR has transformed the global HIV/AIDS response. PEPFAR support nearly 11.5 million people with antiretroviral treatment, a 50 per cent increase since 2014. This is compared with the only 50,000 people who were on treatment in sub-Saharan Africa when PEPFAR began.” (https://www.pepfar.gov/documents/organization/251737.pdf )

Working with HIV and AIDS, and raising awareness around this topic, is really important for the Field Band Foundation due to the statistics of people living with HIV/AIDS in South-Africa. According to Sanac, the estimated number of people living with HIV in South-Africa is 7.053.987. This number is from 2016. (http://ivizard.org/sanac/)

Written by: Hanna Bakke Negård