Call for Renewal of the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief

February 28, 2008

To:           Editorial Writers and Editors

From:      Ketayoun Darvich-Kodjouri, Communications Director 202-939-2654

RE:          Call for Renewal of the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief

The U.S. House of Representatives is currently debating legislation that would renew the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). The current draft of the U.S. Global HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Reauthorization Act of 2008 would increase PEPFAR funding to $50 billion over the next five years. The Senate is expected to begin debate on their version of the act over the next few weeks.

We urge you to call on members of Congress to reauthorize PEPFAR this year—and to support the important proposed improvements in the current version of the House of Representatives’ legislation that would strengthen efforts to address the unique vulnerabilities of women and girls to HIV.

Here are some key points to consider:

• The PEPFAR program has saved lives and should be renewed. Five years ago when the five-year, $15 billion program initiated, only 50,000 people living with HIV in all of sub-Saharan Africa were receiving antiretroviral treatment. Since then, PEPFAR has supported antiretroviral treatment for more than 1.4 million people in 15 focus countries (mostly in sub-Saharan Africa), care for more than 6.6 million people infected or affected by HIV/AIDS, and counseling and testing for more than 33 million people.

• However, lessons learned over the past five years will allow a more targeted focus to address the real-life needs of women and girls. According to UNAIDS, women and adolescent girls account for about half of all HIV infections worldwide and more than 60 percent of all infections in sub-Saharan Africa. The PEPFAR program can do more to address the unique circumstances that fuel the epidemic among women and girls. For example, research shows that more than four-fifths of new infections in women result from sex with their husband or primary partners. Between 20 to 50 percent of women worldwide indicate that their first sexual experience was forced, and women who experience physical or sexual violence are at greater risk of acquiring HIV.

• U.S. global AIDS efforts can be improved to support the full range of proven prevention strategies so that women are better protected from HIV transmission. The original PEPFAR legislation states that 33 percent of all HIV prevention spending must be allocated to “abstinence-until-marriage programs.” However, research shows that marriage is not a protective factor from contracting HIV for women. For example, in Ghana, married women are almost three times more likely to be infected with HIV than women who have never been married. By striking the abstinence earmark in PEPFAR, countries would be allowed greater flexibility in targeting their prevention strategies to meet the needs of their local populations.

PEPFAR also could be improved by integrating maternal health and family planning services with AIDS programs. Women and men should be able to receive AIDS information and services no matter where they access health care. If counseling and testing were more readily available, more women could learn their status. This is especially important for expectant mothers, who could dramatically reduce the likelihood of transmitting the virus to their newborns by receiving antiretroviral drugs prior to delivery.

To illustrate why these points are so critical, we have enclosed the stories of six remarkable women who are working on the frontlines of the AIDS fight today. Their work to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV, eradicate stigma against those living with AIDS, and reach marginalized populations illustrate the urgency of renewing the U.S. commitment to aggressively prevent, treat, care for those living with HIV and AIDS.

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Updated news, information and stories about women in the fight against HIV/AIDS are available from the Centre for Development and Population Activities (CEDPA) Web site. Founded in 1975, CEDPA is an internationally recognized non-profit organization that improves the lives of women and girls in developing countries. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., CEDPA has offices in Egypt, India, Nepal, Nigeria and South Africa, and more than 5,000 partners and alumni in over 150 countries worldwide.

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