July 16, 2008 Update
The U.S. Senate passed its version of the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) by a vote of 80 to 16. Click here to read a letter IWHC and 48 other organizations sent to Senators urging them to fix the PEPFAR bill before it passed.  Click here for a press release issued by IWHC and five other organizations. 

Ideology over Public Health: HIV/AIDS Prevention

Thirty-three million people are living with HIV worldwide and young women and girls are particularly at risk. In response to this pandemic, President Bush launched the PEPFAR. In 2003, this groundbreaking program allocated $15 billion over five years to combat HIV/AIDS in Africa and the Caribbean. The funding PEPFAR provides for HIV/AIDS is the largest international initiative ever dedicated to a single disease. As of September 2007, PEPFAR has provided lifesaving treatment to an estimated 1.45 million people. However, this legislation contains a number of damaging provisions that undermine its effectiveness on the ground. More>>

2008: PEPFAR Reauthorization
This year, Congress is acting to revise and reauthorize the PEPFAR program. On April 2, 2008, the House authorized $50 billion dollars to combat HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria by a vote of 308 to 116. More>>

What lawmakers must do to make PEPFAR work for women and youth: 

• Remove arbitrary prevention spending guidelines that stand in the way of providing every individual with the range of services and education they need to protect him or herself against HIV. More>>
  
• Include explicit language strengthening the linkages between reproductive health services and HIV prevention.  Despite calls from the World Health Organization (WHO), U.S.-funded operational research, and even OGAC's own recognition of benefits, so far in the PEPFAR reauthorization process Congress has failed to recognize the benefits of strengthening and linking health services that provide multiple benefits - including reproductive health services and HIV prevention. More>>
  
• Enact WHO and USAID Recommendations on PMTCT: The World Health Organization recommends that women seeking treatment to prevent maternal-to-child transmission (PMTCT) of HIV have access to voluntary family planning information and commodities should they choose to prevent another pregnancy. More>>
  
• Eliminate the prostitution pledge that requires groups fighting HIV/AIDS overseas to pledge their opposition to prostitution and sex trafficking before receiving U.S. money. More>>
  
• Remove the unconscionable "conscience clause." The original PEPFAR legislation contains a provision that enables organizations receiving U.S. funding to pick and choose the prevention and treatment services they wish to provide. More>> 

What you can do>>
Get Engaged in PEPFAR Reauthorization: Let your elected officials know you support these key elements in PEPFAR reform.

Stay Informed.

• Visit Bush's Other War for information about other Bush administration policies that are undermining women's and girls' health worldwide
• Visit Stay Informed, Take Action for information on legislation before the 110th congress that will affect women and girls at home and abroad.
• Visit With Women Worldwide: A Compact to End HIV/AIDS for more information on IWHC's action agenda for addressing global HIV/AIDS.
• Read our factsheet on women and HIV/AIDS.

Donate to IWHC. IWHC's partners worldwide are working to eradicate the gender inequalities that make women so vulnerable to HIV/AIDS. They are providing young people with the information, skills, and strategies they need to reach adulthood in good health. By supporting us, you will strengthen our support for these groups. Click here to make a contribution.

Spread the word. You can email this page to a friend by clicking on the link in the top right corner.

This factsheet last updated in July 2008. For more information, contact Whitney Welshimer at 212-979-8500 or  wwelshimer@iwhc.org.