Congress Reauthorizes U.S. Global HIV Program

The Senate has passed legislation reauthorizing PEPFAR, the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, extending for another five years the flagship U.S. global HIV program that provides lifesaving HIV treatment to more than 14 million people. The House passed an identical bill in November. Ahead of World AIDS Day on Dec. 1, IDSA and HIVMA member Dr. Myron Cohen wrote this op-ed on how PEPFAR has transformed global health responses, despite years of flat funding.

Funding for PEPFAR and other global health programs housed in the Department of State and the U.S. Agency for International Development remains up in the air, as Congress has yet to pass a funding bill for fiscal year 2019 and must do so by Dec. 21 to avoid a partial shutdown of government programs. Click hereto tell your elected officials to pass a funding bill for global infectious disease programs that includes critical funding increases for global HIV and TB programs.