The President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief: marshalling all tools at our disposal toward an AIDS-free generation

For the first time in the thirty-year history of AIDS, scientific research and successful HIV programs have made an AIDS-free generation a realistic global ambition. The President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) laid the foundation for reaching this goal. This article reviews PEPFAR's efforts to date and highlights programs, such as those encouraging voluntary male circumcision, that have worked to reduce HIV transmission and improve health for people with HIV. It also identifies remaining challenges, such as continuing to lower the costs of programs per unit of service delivered. PEPFAR will continue to expand and share its understanding of what works, focus on evidence-based "combination prevention" strategies, and make investments that maximize the impact of each dollar spent. It will also support growing ownership by partner countries of HIV/AIDS programs in terms of both management and financing, which are keys to the long-term sustainability of those programs. The article closes with a call to marshal every scientific, public health, and political tool at our disposal to achieve an AIDS-free generation.