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In addition, 2004 will be a critical year for ARP to play a lead role in laying the strategic groundwork for the successful reauthorization of the Ryan White Care Act here at home.

ARP has already identified top projected needs in planning its program and operational priorities:

Increased Partnerships During the August 2003 ARP CODEL, an important meeting was held with Daimler Chrysler officials in South Africa to learn more about their groundbreaking HIV/AIDS workplace program. The company offers free anti-retroviral treatment and education for its workers and their families. As a result of the meeting, ARP and Daimler Chrysler are developing a pilot turnkey program, based on the company's HIV/AIDS benefit policy, which integrates economic development, treatment, compliance education and public health improvements with existing infrastructure. In 2004, ARP will seek new partners to launch this pilot program, with support from the U.S. government under the Bush initiative.

Continued Bridge-Building ARP will seek to sponsor a 2004 CODEL to repeat the success of its 2003 efforts, and continue to nurture and expand direct relationships, build ARP partnerships and conduct follow-up research for additional reports to the Bush Administration, Congress, corporate and NGO partners and the general public. At the request of USAID, ARP intends to target Latin America for expansion of this program with a congressional staff CODEL in January 2004.

Protecting Research & Development for New Treatments An essential role that groups like ARP must play is to be a respected voice advocating for policies that encourage research and development to create new and better drugs to treat HIV. The growing threat of resistance to existing anti-retroviral therapies makes the discovery of new drugs absolutely essential if we are to achieve any of our goals in the years ahead. For this reason ARP will continue to be a respective voice speaking out against short-sighted attacks on research based drug manufacturers here and abroad.

In addition, ARP will seek to build stronger cross-Atlantic bridges of understanding between the U.S. and Africa so that the real problems and challenges of the Africa epidemic is better understood by the American people. Too often, Americans have incorrectly superimposed the U.S. realities of HIV/AIDS - affected populations, access to affordable drugs, etc. - onto Africa. This has shifted important attention away from the real obstacles to progress in Africa. For instance, the continued perception that the main problem in Africa is lack of cheap or free AIDS drugs continues to complicate matters, and financial pressures affecting R&D threatens the rapid discovery of new and more effective drugs. This factual disconnect is also prevalent in Latin America and Europe, and needs to be addressed.

Through partnerships and public education efforts throughout 2004, ARP will work to build stronger understanding among the U.S. general public about the differences between the U.S. and African AIDS experiences, the challenges we face in bringing real progress to Africa, and the facts behind the Bush initiative and what it is bringing about on the ground.

Public Education Campaigns By compiling an extensive video library with the help of our communications partner the Marlo Group, ARP will seek to launch a wide variety of video productions in order to help educate the American public, as well as policy makers, organization leaders and new partner entities, on what we face in the target regions, what is being done on the ground, how well it is working and what we are learning in order to improve our efforts. Groups like ARP must work to educate the public on this very ambitious effort, especially as continued public awareness and support is necessary to see these efforts through to completion.

ARP will also expand its internet-based information sharing by adding valuable original and coordinated content on its website that will include research, reports, news and analysis.

Domestic Implications/Ryan White CARE Act ARP's research and program activities in 2003 have been well-received in Congress and the Administration, as well as with a number of NGOs and corporate leaders in the fight against HIV/AIDS here at home. As a result, ARP has been asked by senior policy makers in the Congress and the Administration to be an important resource for domestic policy development. In order to rise to this need, ARP will seek to expand its legislative and policy activities in Washington, D.C. To help meet this need we will open a Washington, DC office.