US Medical Students Call President's Aids Relief Reauthorization Inadequate

Main Category: HIV / AIDS
Also Included In: Medical Students / Training;  Public Health
Article Date: 15 Jun 2007 - 1:00 PDT

email to a friend   printer friendly   opinions  

The American Medical Student Association (AMSA) is disappointed to find that President Bush's proposal for the reauthorization of PEPFAR falls drastically short of the expectations of people with HIV, healthcare workers and activists. PEPFAR was introduced in 2003 with a 15 billion dollars pledge for AIDS relief in Africa and the Caribbean. On May 31, 2007, President Bush asked Congress to allocate an additional 30 billion dollars to sustain PEPFAR over the next 5 years.

This request seems to double of current PEFAR funding ($15 Billion), but the request for $6 Billion annually in fact represents essentially flat funding, given the current allocation of $5.4 Billion this year. "The increase in funding is inadequate given the scope of the AIDS pandemic," states AMSA Global AIDS Fellow, Dr. Vishal Patel. "The President has said that we should take 'decisive, historic action to turn the tide against this disease.' This stated increase fails meet that standard." The American Medical Student Association calls for President Bush to increase that allocation to $50 billion over five years.

PEPFAR was initially touted as a step forward in American international aid efforts, as it seemed to bolster the United States' stated commitment to the G-8 and the United Nations General Assembly's goal of achieving universal access to AIDS treatment by 2010. However, President Bush's announced treatment target of 2.5 million people is a mere 500,000 increase from PEPFAR's original goal of 2 million, announced in 2003. This nominal increase in fact masks a stark reduction in the percentage of people with AIDS who will receive through PEPFAR, considering that 4.3 million new infections were recorded in 2006 alone, and that that the number of people needing antiretroviral medications will quickly exceed PEPFAR's targets.

Perhaps most problematic is a lack of emphasis on healthcare systems strengthening and health worker sustainability. These are key to truly addressing the HIV crisis in Africa. "Training sufficient healthcare workers is vital to helping Africa to create a sustainable system to provide for its own patients," says Dr. Patel. "PEPFAR must follow the lead of Senators Durbin, Feingold, and Boxer's African Health Capacity Investment Act that addresses the health workforce crisis. PEPFAR is taking small steps to reduce the destruction from this epidemic, but lack of decisive action seriously undermines those efforts."

About the American Medical Student Association

The American Medical Student Association (AMSA), with more than a half-century history of medical student activism, is the oldest and largest independent association of physicians-in-training in the United States. Founded in 1950, AMSA is a student-governed, non-profit organization committed to representing the concerns of physicians-in-training. With more than 68,000 members, including medical and premedical students, residents and practicing physicians, AMSA is committed to improving medical training as well as advancing the profession of medicine. AMSA focuses on four strategic priorities, including universal healthcare, disparities in medicine, diversity in medicine and transforming the culture of medical education. To learn more about AMSA, our strategic priorities, or joining the organization, please visit us online at http://www.amsa.org.

• Additional
• References
• Citations