WASHINGTON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) applauds the U.S. Congress for maintaining its contribution to the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria while increasing funding for the U.S. domestic HIV response.
Congress has approved bipartisan legislation for the president’s signature that would appropriate $3.1 billion for the 2020 fiscal year for HIV research at the U.S. National Institutes for Health; $5.9 billion for PEPFAR including $1.56 billion for the Global Fund; USAID’s HIV program would receive $300 million and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) global HIV program would get $128 million.
In the U.S., Congress will provide $140 million in new money for HIV prevention for the CDC; an additional $70 million for the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program and $50 million for community clinics under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration. Even programs for prevention of sexually transmitted diseases run by the CDC received a slight increase.
“Congress has given the global and domestic HIV response a ringing endorsement with this renewed investment in the fight to end the AIDS epidemic,” said Michael Weinstein.
Since 2003, PEPFAR has ensured that nearly 16 million people have had access to lifesaving antiretroviral medicine and enabled 2.6 million babies to be born HIV-free to mothers living with HIV. The Global Fund has also made invaluable progress in the fight against HIV/AIDS by saving over 27 million lives globally since 2002, and in 2017 alone, it ensured that 17.5 million people were receiving antiretroviral medicine for HIV, treated 5 million people for TB and distributed 197 million mosquito nets worldwide.
“PEPFAR and the Global Fund are the best means we have to end one of the deadliest epidemics the world has ever known,” said Terri Ford, AHF Chief of Global Advocacy and Policy. “Without the unwavering support of the United States, the largest donor by far to the Global Fund, these vital programs would not have the resources they need to help the millions of people around the world who would otherwise have no chance at healthy and productive lives. AHF thanks the U.S. Congress for its generosity and urges other donor countries around the world to follow the example the U.S. Government exemplifies in the battle against HIV/AIDS.”
For more information, please contact Ged Kenslea at [email protected] or (323) 791-5526.
About AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF)
AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), the largest global AIDS organization, currently provides medical care and/or services to over 1.2 million people in 43 countries worldwide in the US, Africa, Latin America/Caribbean, the Asia/Pacific Region and Eastern Europe. To learn more about AHF, please visit our website: www.aidshealth.org, find us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/aidshealth and follow us on Twitter: @aidshealthcare and Instagram: @aidshealthcare.
Contacts
U.S. MEDIA CONTACTS:
Ged Kenslea, Senior Director, Communications, AHF
+1 323 308 1833 work
+1.323.791.5526 mobile
[email protected]
Denys Nazarov, Director of Global Policy & Communications, AHF
+1.323.219.1091
[email protected]
