PEPFAR Well Positioned To Integrate HIV/AIDS, Reproductive Health Services, Report Says
"Integrating Reproductive Health and HIV/AIDS Programs: Strategic Opportunities for PEPFAR," Center for Strategic and International Studies: Janet Fleischman of CSIS discusses the opportunities for the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief to integrate reproductive health, family planning and HIV/AIDS services to "ensure the long-term success of global AIDS efforts." According to Fleischman, integration is a "feasible means" for PEPFAR to prevent new HIV cases among girls and women, prevent children from being orphaned as a result of AIDS-related illnesses, reduce mother-to-child HIV transmission and support the fertility choices and reproductive rights of women living with HIV/AIDS. "[A]ddressing reproductive health and HIV together would better serve the needs of clients and health care providers in a more comprehensive, cost-effective and efficient manner," Fleischman writes. "By integrating services, PEPFAR can also make better use of prior U.S. investment in the health sector" and "achiev[e] its prevention, care and treatment goals," she adds (Fleischman, CSIS, July 2006).
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