U.S. Africa Command hosted a two-day Department of Defense HIV/AIDS Prevention Program conference, January 28-29, 2009, at the command headquarters in Stuttgart Germany.

Recognizing HIV/AIDS as a threat to Africa's security and stability, U.S Africa Command supports the Department of State, Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and other agencies with the coordination of HIV/AIDS programs, including the DOD HIV/AIDS Prevention Program (DHAPP), Defense Health Program (DFP), and the Safe Blood Program.

"U.S. Africa command's vision is to eventually eliminate new cases of HIV in our African partner nation militaries," said Erik Threet, U.S. Africa Command humanitarian assistance program coordinator.

The command also works towards enhancing partner nation military readiness through a program called Partner Military HIV/AIDS Program (PMHAP), which assists partner nations in developing sustainable HIV/AIDS prevention, care and treatment programs.

The conference was attended by representatives from the Naval Research Health Center San Diego, based in California; Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, based near Washington, D.C., and Africa-based doctors and medical personnel.

Doctor Jerome Kim, MD, a U.S. military colonel and deputy director of science for MHRP at the Walter Reed Institute of Research, explained, "The mission is to develop a globally effective HIV-1 vaccine, and support the Presidents Emergency Plan for Aids Relief (PEPFAR)."

The Department of Defense works with U.S. Embassies, host-nation teams and African militaries to develop a strategic plan for treating HIV/AIDS and reduce the rate of HIV/AIDS infections.

"The primary focus of DHAPP program is prevention to reduce the amount of yearly incident rates of Africa military partner nations," said Threet.

MHRPPs research efforts encompass threat assessment and epidemiology, HIV diagnostics, vaccine development and testing, and therapeutics research. While its primary focus is on developing a globally effective preventive HIV-1 vaccine, the MHRP provides effective prevention, care and treatment programs in each of the communities in which they conduct research. This year, more than $60 Million dollars have been allocated from PEPFAR for MHRP's HIV prevention, care, and treatment initiatives in countries including Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, and Nigeria.

"There have been small reports of success in United Nations HIV/Aids programs," said Major Christina Schofield, U.S. Africa command medical staff member. "Trends seem to stabilize or sometimes slightly decrease, but there is much work to be done."

According to Dr. (Colonel) Schuyler Geller, U.S. Africa Command Surgeon, the HIV conference was successful. "It allowed us to interact with our partners from Defense Health Program, as well as the Laboratory partners on the continent of Africa such as Naval Medical Research Unit-3," he said. "It highlighted coordination through many organizations throughout DOD. This helps us tremendously in our fight" against one of the top killers on the continent of Africa.