HIV/AIDS services in rural areas of Tanzania are now more accessible due to recent renovations to military health centers around the country, a project undertaken by the Tanzania People's Defense Forces (TPDF) with the support of the U.S. Military HIV Research Program and the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).

On January 7, 2008, a TPDF health center in Kigamboni was officially opened as a Counseling and Testing Clinic after undergoing renovations with funding from the American people. More than 10 TPDF health centers around the country will be renovated in 2009 and provide HIV counseling and testing to all TPDF officers.

The newly renovated health centers will provide services with supervision from military hospitals in Mbeya, Sonega, Tabora, Monduli, Mwanza, Morogoro, and Zanzibar.

PEPFAR support for the TPDF includes HIV/AIDS prevention, prevention of mother-to-child transmission, counseling and testing, care and treatment, enhanced laboratory infrastructure, TB/HIV treatment, and community support and policy development.

This comprehensive approach serves the 35,000 Tanzanian service members, in addition to thousands of local civilians.

Edward Sekonde, Country Director of the Walter Reed Program at the U.S. Mission in Dar es Salaam, said, "Over 80 percent of the patients visiting military hospitals and health centers are civilians. The American-Tanzanian partnership plays a major role in improving this nation's health care system, benefitting both military and civilian populations in Tanzania."

One of the main goals of the TPDF program is to ensure that all men and women who serve in the Tanzanian army remain HIV-negative throughout their career. The program includes training of peer educators and training in life-skills for all recruits.

Officers from all ranks are trained to advocate safe behavior to prevent HIV infection. Military personnel and civilians from the communities around the hospitals are informed about the HIV/AIDS services at the hospitals and learn about the benefits of HIV testing.

Additionally, four mobile Voluntary Counseling & Test (VCT) services will soon be available in 25 camps along the border regions and lake zone of Tanzania.

With U.S. assistance, all TPDF hospitals have, to varying degrees, been renovated and laboratories have been refurbished and equipped to scale up for HIV/AIDS treatment. As a result of these health investments, more than 5,000 military and civilian patients are receiving anti-retroviral treatment from TPDF hospitals as of December, 2008. This represents a significant increase from 2004 when only 400 military and civilian patients received treatment. In 2008, more than 40,000 people were tested for HIV and more than 5,000 pregnant women were tested and counseled on prevention of mother-to-child transmission.

PEPFAR, a 10-year, $48 billion program, is the largest initiative in history to combat a single disease. Since its inception in 2003, more than $817 million has been invested in combating HIV/AIDS throughout Tanzania. The United States will continue to work closely with the Republic of Tanzania to strengthen its healthcare and fulfill Tanzanian President Kikwete's vision of a "Tanzania free of HIV."