ONE Says Expanded PEPFAR Means Renewed Life for Millions

Washington, D.C.-The new U.S. global AIDS plan will be the difference between life and death for millions of people around the world, the ONE Campaign said on Wednesday.

The legislation to combat HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria, signed into law by President Bush on Wednesday, was the culmination of many months of work by Congressional leaders, advocacy organizations, foreign policy experts and medical professionals.

The ONE Campaign, a nonpartisan advocacy organization dedicated to eliminating extreme poverty and preventable global diseases, has been working with leading Republicans and Democrats to craft the new U.S. AIDS strategy.  Group co-founder Bono applauded the new strategy.

“Americans, whether they know it or not, are literally saving the lives of millions of people in the poorest places on the planet. In the last five years, America has prevented 1 million women from passing on HIV to their babies … funded care for 3 millions AIDS orphans … and provided desperately needed medicine to more than 1.4 million people suffering from HIV/AIDS.  You are my heroes and not just for what you’ve done, but for what this new law promises,” Bono said. “This has more to do with hard heads than soft hearts. America’s global AIDS plan has proved to be a smart investment, paying dividends in lives saved, communities stabilized and America’s reputation in the world growing a little bit brighter.  This stuff works and leaders from left and right — leaders like Senators Biden and Lugar, Representatives Berman and Ros-Lehtinen, President Bush, Speaker Pelosi and Senator Reid – put aside their differences and agreed to do more.”

While the legislation authorizes levels of funding, Congress must still approve the investments each year.  ONE will press House and Senate members to follow-through on the promised funding starting this fall.

David Lane, ONE’s President and CEO, attended the White House signing ceremony on Wednesday.  Lane recently returned from a trip to Rwanda with a bipartisan delegation of political and humanitarian leaders. The group saw firsthand the difference that American support is making in the fight against HIV/AIDS and Lane said that the updated AIDS plan will be welcome throughout Africa.

“When we visited the Masaka health clinic outside Kigali, we saw the equipment and the medicines America paid for.  We talked with the nurses and doctors who received professional medical training because of American programs.  Most importantly, we visited with the AIDS patients, who knew that American support helped to save their lives,” Lane said.  “This is a life-saving, life-changing effort that America is supporting. It’s forging friendships throughout the developing world — with governments and individuals alike.”

The new “U.S. Global Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Act” builds on the success of the initial strategy, the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).  Because of the U.S. commitments in PEPFAR, more than 2.1 million people in sub-Saharan Africa are on antiretroviral AIDS treatments, up from just 50,000 people in 2002.  Yet, the AIDS emergency continues to grow.  Globally, for every two people who start taking antiretroviral drugs, another five people become infected.

The new law authorizes nearly $50 billion to combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis during the next five years.  It provides funding for treatment for at least three million AIDS patients, care for five million AIDS orphans, and training and support for 140,000 new health care professionals.