HIV / AIDS

HIV/AIDS

Africa continues to have the highest concentration of people with HIV and AIDS in the world. The US Jesuit Conference has supported the US government’s PEPFAR program (President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief) which targets 14 countries, most of which are in Africa. This five-year program technically ends this year and we will be advocating for its renewal, together with our colleagues at Catholic Relief Services and the US Conference of Catholic Bishops. The Jesuit Conference also supports robust funding for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria, which supports HIV/AIDS programs in countries around the world, including and in addition to the 14 PEPFAR countries.

Through the National Jesuit Committee on Investor Responsibility (NJCIR), the Jesuits of the United States have engaged US based companies, advocating for affordable medications to be made available in African countries and for companies to adopt workplace policies regarding HIV/AIDS that promote testing and counseling and that are non-discriminatory.

The US Jesuit Conference helped to establish the African Jesuit AIDS Network in 2001. For more information on AJAN, click here .