Congress Retreats On Global AIDS, Says New AHF Ad Campaign

Main Category: HIV / AIDS
Article Date: 25 Feb 2008 - 4:00 PDT

email to a friend   printer friendly   view / write opinions   rate article

In response to significantly different proposals by President Bush and Congress for the legislation to reauthorize the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the successful five-year-old US global AIDS program, AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) (http://www.aidshealth.org) unveils a new print ad campaign to urge Congress to keep PEPFAR's funding and focus on providing lifesaving medical treatment - including the delivery of antiretroviral treatment - to the HIV/AIDS patients served by this worthy US humanitarian effort. Congress' proposed reauthorization bill removes a requirement that 55% of all PEPFAR funds be spent on medical treatment, and its current proposed version of the bill broadens the scope of the program, which AHF believes will undermine the success the plan had yielded to date.

AHF's print ad, headlined, 'Congress Retreats on Global AIDS,' urges Congress to fully restore the 55% floor for funding of medical care and treatment, and points out that, "…any (PEPFAR) bill that does not prioritize these essential services will waste billions of dollars and cost millions of lives." The advertisement, first published in today's Washington Blade, a respected DC-area weekly newspaper targeting the gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgender communities, will also run next week on Tuesday, February 26 (and again on Tuesdays, March 4, and March 11) in The Hill, a daily newspaper in Washington targeting legislators and their staffers.

"By seeking to do so many worthy things - nutrition aid, legal empowerment of women, care for orphans and vulnerable children - Congress' proposed bill virtually guarantees that none of it will be done right, and none of these problems will be significantly alleviated, much less solved," said Michael Weinstein, President of AIDS Healthcare Foundation, which operates free AIDS treatment clinics in the US, Africa, Latin America/Caribbean and Asia. "The new $50 billion proposal by Congress does everything but care for those with HIV/AIDS. PEPFAR has been one of the most successful global humanitarian programs in recent memory, providing medical care to millions of people with HIV/AIDS, it has given hope to the 33 million people with HIV/AIDS in the world. Without access to HIV care, these people will die. We are asking Congress to restore the 55% floor for the funding of lifesaving medical treatment, including the delivery of antiretroviral treatment."

In its advertisement, AHF states that a successful global AIDS bill must include:

- A 55% treatment floor and a goal to treat 10 million people by 2013: This requirement will ensure that AIDS treatment gets to all those who are sick while helping prevent the spread of HIV.

- Clear and ambitious testing requirements: Individuals unaware of their HIV status spread the majority of new infections and HIV testing must be scaled up to stop this trend.

- Fiscal accountability: The billions of US dollars being appropriated is enough to meet the treatment needs of those with HIV/AIDS as long as Congress ensures spending is prioritized for core medical services.

The print advertisement is a four-color ad that will also run in future editions of The Hill and likely other papers as the PEPFAR bill wends its way though the reauthorization process.

PEPFAR was the result of President Bush's groundbreaking 2003 State of the Union pledge to bring two million HIV positive Africans and others into treatment and prevent seven million new HIV infections via a five-year, $15 billion US-funded program. It currently operates in 15 focus countries and claims to support antiretroviral treatment for 1.4 million people worldwide.

About AHF

AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) is the nation's largest non-profit HIV/AIDS healthcare, research, prevention and education provider. AHF currently provides medical care and/or services to more than 62,000 individuals in 20 countries worldwide in the US, Africa, Latin America/Caribbean and Asia.

AIDS Healthcare Foundation