AIDS bill nears vote

MEGAN PELLEGRINO COPY/WEB EDITOR MRP727@CABRINI EDU

The U.S. Senate is currently going through the legislative process for renewal on the U.S. global AIDS bill. On April 2, the House of Representatives overwhelmingly voted to reauthorize PEPFAR. The House raised the 30 billion dollar proposal to 50 billion dollars.

President Bush has led the effort to combat HIV/AIDS.

“America is leading the fight against disease. Our emergency plan for AIDS relief is treating 1.4 million people. We can bring healing and hope to many more. So I ask you to maintain the principles that have changed behavior and made this program a success and I call on you to double our initial commitment to fighting HIV/AIDS by approving an additional 30 billion dollars over the next five years,” President Bush stated in The State of the Union Address delivered on Jan. 28.

PEPFAR is the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, implemented by Bush in 2003.

PEPFAR is the largest commitment by any nation dedicated to a single disease.

“The President’s plan to double the PEPFAR fund for addressing the AIDS pandemic is laudable but you could add 100 percent more of that and really make a difference,” Ken Hackett, President of Catholic Relief Services, said during a sit down interview.

PEPFAR supports 114 countries around the world with 15 focus countries including Kenya, Zambia and Uganda, which receive two-thirds of funding.

“The PEPFAR fund is not just for antiretroviral medicine, it is also for education...for awareness, creation and prevention. People in Africa, people in my country, have unanimously said PEPFAR is a wonderful move, this is a great move, it is in the right direction in terms of trying to fight HIV in the developing world,” Thomas Awiapo, a Catholic Relief Services staff member, said in an