Ten years ago, 19,000 people in Sub-Saharan Africa were the first to receive free HIV treatment. That was 0.1% of all the people living with HIV in the region that year. Paying for these drugs was a bold move by the Botswana government -- one that said to the world, "We're not going to wait for you to help us" -- but it wasn't nearly enough to begin to end the epidemic.

Thankfully, the people of Botswana didn't have to go it alone. Days after their government announced that it would begin paying for treatment, The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria was created. Now, a decade later, more than 5 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa (almost 7 million worldwide) are receiving life-saving treatment thanks to the Global Fund and the US President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).

It's easy to take this accomplishment for granted, but treatment everywhere in the world has been the result of an unprecedented collaboration between advocates, healthcare workers, and governments alike. Thanks to private individuals, celebrities, corporations, and other donors, organizations including our own and the Global Fund have been able to discover more effective HIV technologies, reduce the price of drugs, and deliver treatment and care to those in need. From the Caribbean to Asia, millions of lives have been saved by the generosity of people everywhere in the world.

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