The Peace Corps contributes significantly to the fight against HIV/AIDS, with programs in approximately 60 posts throughout the world. In the 2010 Annual Volunteer Survey, 2,444 Volunteers reported being involved in HIV/AIDS activities; less than 5% of these Volunteers had their service directly funded by PEPFAR. In Fiscal year 2011, the Peace Corps used funds from the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) to extend the impact of its work in HIV in 47 countries and one regional program overseas. Peace Corps posts in these countries use PEPFAR resources to enhance their HIV/AIDS programming and in-country training; field additional Peace Corps Response and two-year Peace Corps Volunteers specifically in support of Emergency Plan goals; and provide targeted support for community-initiated projects.
As a grassroots capacity-building organization, the Peace Corps is uniquely positioned to play an essential role in any country strategy aimed at combating HIV/AIDS. The Peace Corps' contributes to the PEPFAR transition to sustainable, country-led responses to HIV by providing long-term capacity development support to non-governmental, community-based, and faith-based organizations, with particular emphasis on ensuring that community-initiated projects and programs provide holistic support to people living with and affected by HIV/AIDS. Peace Corps volunteers also aim to develop the necessary management and programmatic expertise at recipient and beneficiary organizations to ensure long-lasting support, particularly in rural communities. All of this is possible in large part because Peace Corps volunteers receive language and cultural training that enables them to become members of the communities in which they live and work.
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