By Daniel Hamon
Earlier this year I visited an HIV/AIDS orphanage in Africa. In the midst of tremendous difficulty, the children were happy to wave and smile to a stranger - their young spirits were full of life. As part of the visit, a worker showed me the orphanage's well-stocked medicine cabinet.
All I have heard about medicines to treat HIV/AIDS is that they are expensive and hard to obtain. When I asked how difficult it was to get these medicines, the answer was not what I expected: "Not difficult at all. Whenever we run out, we tell the local hospital and they send more. It is all because of the Bush Grant".
What she referred to as the "Bush Grant" is the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, or PEPFAR. It was set in motion during the 2003 State of the Union Address when President George W. Bush proposed the following:
Today, on the continent of Africa, nearly 30 million people have the AIDS virus -- including 3 million children under the age 15. There are whole countries in Africa where more than one-third of the adult population carries the infection. More than 4 million require immediate drug treatment. Yet across that continent, only 50,000 AIDS victims -- only 50,000 -- are receiving the medicine they need.
Because the AIDS diagnosis is considered a death sentence, many do not seek treatment. Almost all who do are turned away. A doctor in rural South Africa describes his frustration. He says, "We have no medicines. Many hospitals tell people, you've got AIDS, we can't help you. Go home and die." In an age of miraculous medicines, no person should have to hear those words.
AIDS can be prevented. Anti-retroviral drugs can extend life for many years. And the cost of those drugs has dropped from $12,000 a year to under $300 a year -- which places a tremendous possibility within our grasp. Ladies and gentlemen, seldom has history offered a greater opportunity to do so much for so many.
We have confronted, and will continue to confront, HIV/AIDS in our own country. And to meet a severe and urgent crisis abroad, tonight I propose the Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief -- a work of mercy beyond all current international efforts to help the people of Africa. This comprehensive plan will prevent 7 million new AIDS infections, treat at least 2 million people with life-extending drugs, and provide humane care for millions of people suffering from AIDS, and for children orphaned by AIDS.
I ask the Congress to commit $15 billion over the next five years, including nearly $10 billion in new money, to turn the tide against AIDS in the most afflicted nations of Africa and the Caribbean.
PEPFAR was authorized through Public Law 108-25. According to GovTrack.us, the bill passed the House of Representatives 375 to 41 and passed the Senate by Voice Vote. President Bush signed the bill into law on May 27, 2003.
After my trip to Africa, I found Bob Geldof's Time article and interview with President Bush. Geldof talks about the origin of the program, its success to date and wonders why, after almost five years of success, very few American people know about it.
It is some story. And I have always wondered why it was never told properly to the American people, who were paying for it. It was, for example, Bush who initiated the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) with cross-party support led by Senators John Kerry and Bill Frist. In 2003, only 50,000 Africans were on HIV antiretroviral drugs — and they had to pay for their own medicine. Today, 1.3 million are receiving medicines free of charge.
The U.S. also contributes one-third of the money for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria — which treats another 1.5 million. So why doesn't America know about this? "I tried to tell them. But the press weren't much interested," says Bush.
In its Fourth Annual Report to Congress, PEPFAR listed some of its accomplishments:
- Provided antiretroviral treatment in more than 827,000 pregnancies, preventing an estimated 157,000 infant HIV infections
- Supported antiretroviral treatment for more than 1.33 million men, women, and children in sub-Saharan Africa
- Treatment support is estimated to save nearly 3.2 million adult years of life through September 2009
- Supported care for more than 6.6 million people infected or affected by HIV/AIDS, including 2.7 million orphans and vulnerable children
On July 30, 2008, President Bush signed H.R. 5501 which reauthorized PEPFAR for another five years and funded it with $48 billion to continue the fight against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. This will undoubtedly continue making a huge positive impact in the lives of people in Africa -- what a way to make a difference in the world!
The US government contributed $15 billion in the first five years of this program plus an additional $48 billion for the next five years. The US has also contributed over $4 billion to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.
"In paying for all this, the American people have been more generous than the rest of the developed world combined", concluded The Wall Street Journal.
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