On Tuesday, the acting U.S. global AIDS coordinator, Angeli Achrekar, sent an email informing partners of the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief that the next country and regional operation plan process — known as the COP process — has been paused.
“We have heard from many of you directly as well as from multiple missions all over the globe, and recognize the toll COVID-19 has had on everyone during this unprecedented time,” Achrekar wrote in the email, which Devex obtained.
She instructed PEPFAR’s partners to focus on implementing the current 2020 operational plans — which set annual country investments and expected results — and added that the pause, which will extend at least until the first week of April, is intended to provide “some relief.”