The African Comprehensive HIV/AIDS Partnerships (ACHAP) is a country-led, public-private development partnership between the Government of Botswana, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and Merck & Co., Inc/The Merck Company Foundation dedicated to supporting and enhancing Botswana’s national response to HIV/AIDS through 2009.
The Bill and Melinda Gates foundation and The Merck Company Foundation have each dedicated US$56.5 million towards the project. Merck & Co., Inc. is also donating two antiretroviral medicines, STOCRIN (Efavirenz) and CRIXIVAN (Indinavir sulfate) for appropriate treatment programmes developed by the Government of Botswana for the duration of the initiative.
ACHAP has four strategic areas of focus:
1. Scaling-up HIV prevention;
2. Expansion of HIV counseling & testing capacity including post-test services;
3. Continued support to the national ARV program; and
4. Advocacy and mobilization/empowerment of communities and people living with HIV/AIDS
In addition to these four strategic objectives, ACHAP has two other objectives which address internal systems and issues related to partnerships.
These are:
ACHAP is committed to building organizational and human resource capacities in support of these strategic objectives at both the central and district levels.
Mission:
To support Botswana’s national comprehensive HIV/AIDS strategy to prevent new HIV infections and to reduce the morbidity and mortality of HIV/AIDS.
Vision:
To be a model public-private development partnership in the global fight against HIV/AIDS.