URGENT INTERNATIONAL SIGN-ON REQUEST: PEPFAR REAUTHORIZATION

[Guest guest]

***apologies for duplicate postings. please forward widely***

Dear Colleague,

The U.S. Congress has begun the process to reauthorize the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the U.S. bilateral program for HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. We are seeking your support to rectify the shortcomings of the President's programs and to urge Congress to increase funding over the next five years.

Your voices are important for Congress to hear and with your support we can bolster the call to Congress to expand the overall amount of funding available for poverty-focused aid.

Below is a sign-on letter for organizations only in Africa, Asia and Latin America. As time is of the essence we ask that you sign on by close of business Tuesday, February 5th. Please include the name of the organization and country of location in the email and send it to gbukenya@....

In addition to signing this group letter, we encourage your organizations to urgently also send us individual letters on your letterhead or stationery which reinforce this message about funding and which we can then provide to members of the U.S. Congress. If you choose to send individual letters, please first sign this community letter!

We look forward to joining hands and working towards global efforts to fight these devastating diseases.

The Honorable ph Biden The Honorable Lugar

Chairman Ranking Member

Senate Foreign Relations Committee Senate Foreign Relations Committee

Washington, DC 20510 Washington, DC 20510

January 28, 2008

Dear Mr. Chairman and Ranking Member Senator Lugar:

Thank you for your support in the fight against HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria around the world. Your longstanding dedication has helped ensure that millions of people in the developing world are alive today, and shown real US global leadership in the global fight against these devastating diseases. When PEPFAR was launched, little more than a handful of people in impoverished countries had access to AIDS treatment; today more than two million are on life-saving drugs. Today, all over Africa, Asia and Latin America, people are receiving prevention information and tools that help them stop the spread of HIV. Both of these life-saving changes are thanks, in large part, to you.

As members of the international community who are faced with these diseases everyday and witness firsthand the impact of US global health programs, we write today to ask for your support in scaling up the US response to meet the increasing global needs of people living with and at risk of HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria around the world. As you consider the reauthorization of the United States Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Act and the PEPFAR programs, we ask that you include authorization of at least $50 billion for global AIDS, $4 billion for TB and $5 billion for Malaria over five years in the legislation.

This scale up will make it possible to increase the number of people receiving free AIDS treatment and support for longer term patient health; execute comprehensive prevention programs that focus on vulnerable populations; address the social, economic and cultural issues that drive infection; ensure that all HIV positive pregnant women receive services to prevent mother-to-child HIV transmission; and substantially increase the supply of health professionals and build health systems and infrastructure. These priorities have the potential to have an important impact on the lives and wellbeing of all beneficiaries of PEPFAR’s services.

This scale up—essential to save lives—must come hand in hand with an expansion of other global health and development programs that truly address global poverty and inequity.

As we have seen since the inception of these crucial US global health programs, US leadership induces other countries to follow. We have seen this at the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, where each dollar from the US has been matched by two dollars from other nations. Yet without this leadership, the world falters—an option we cannot afford when millions of lives are on the line.

Thank you for your support and your leadership on these important issues. We look forward to a continued leadership role by the US in scaling up global AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria programming for the next five years so that people around the world can continue to receive life-saving services.

Sincerely,