Doctors and AIDS advocates from AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), which provides AIDS medical care to more than 138,000 individuals in 23 countries worldwide, will host a press conference at the International AIDS Conference in Vienna on Monday, July 19th at 12 noon (Media Center, Room PCR #3) to reiterate their call on the United States to honor the its landmark commitment to PEPFAR (the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief), the successful US global AIDS program. The group will repeat its call on the US Congress to increase PEPFAR funding to ensure that funding for PEPFAR's lifesaving efforts comes closer to the full $48 billion authorized by Congress in 2008 and urge that US legislators demand accountability so that PEPFAR countries operate their AIDS treatment programs in the most cost effective ways by reducing the amount permitted to be spent on overhead and bureaucracy.
“provide at least $50 billion by 2013 for the global fight against HIV/AIDS . . . in order to at least double the number of HIV-positive people on treatment and continue to provide treatments to one third of all those who desperately need them.”
Background on PEPFAR
President Bush created PEPFAR in 2003 with unanimous, bi-partisan support. PEPFAR has been a resounding success, providing lifesaving AIDS treatment to over 2.4 million people (resulting in a 10.5% reduction in the HIV death rate in partner countries), preventing millions of new HIV infections, and providing care to over 3.6 million orphans and vulnerable children. Building on this success, Congress reauthorized PEPFAR in 2008 with expanded goals for treatment, prevention, and care. When campaigning for President, then-Senator Obama promised to "provide at least $50 billion by 2013 for the global fight against HIV/AIDS . . . in order to at least double the number of HIV-positive people on treatment and continue to provide treatments to one third of all those who desperately need them."
The U.S. Retreat on its Commitment To Fight Global AIDS
Despite the strides PEPFAR has made, the fight against AIDS is in retreat. PEPFAR is not fully funded, and the administration has disregarded laws that would ensure that programs are cost effective and treat the most people possible. Inefficient and wasteful practices continue, denying care to millions. The catastrophic impact of this retreat is under way. Treatment programs in Uganda, Mozambique, Botswana and Nigeria have instituted caps on treatment slots and are turning people away or experiencing drug shortages.
Solutions—AIDS drugs cost less than $100 per person per year; the money already authorized by Congress is enough to treat everyone who needs it, if it is spent effectively. To achieve this, AHF proposes the following:
■ PEPFAR should spend no more than $350 per person per year for treatment. Waste and overhead pushes average PEPFAR treatment costs per patient to over $1,100 per year. There is no reason for this, when AIDS drugs, the most expensive part of care, cost less than $100 per year. Capping expenditures at $350 (many programs provide care for less than this) will ensure that all people who need it can access care.
■ Increase funding for PEPFAR by at least $1 billion for FY 2011 and each year thereafter. Increases of at least $1 billion over each of the next 3 years will ensure that funding approaches the full $48 billion authorized by Congress.
■ Remove waste by limiting administrative overhead for contractors to 10% and all indirect costs to 20%. Too much PEPFAR money is going to bureaucrats and middlemen, money that should be going to treatment. Domestic AIDS programs limit administrative costs to 10%. PEPFAR contractors should be held to the same standard.
■ Require that 75% Of All PEPFAR Funds Be Spent On AIDS Treatment. Current law requires that half of all PEPFAR funds be spent on care and treatment. It is increasingly clear that treatment not only saves lives, it is the most effective prevention tool available. To ensure there are sufficient funds for treatment, and to finally reduce new infections, a floor for funding for treatment should be set at 75%.
The United States, working together with the world, has the ability and resources to control AIDS globally. To retreat now, after all the progress that has been made, would be an unnecessary catastrophe.
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