Letter to the editor: Reauthorize federal AIDS relief program

Commentary

OPINION:

The global fight to end HIV/AIDS is one of the world’s greatest success stories — and that’s in large part due to an American program you might have never heard of.

The President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, or PEPFAR, was established by President George W. Bush in 2003 to stem the scourge of HIV/AIDS, especially in Africa, where an HIV diagnosis was essentially a death sentence.

Twenty years later, PEPFAR has saved 25 million lives, including 5.5 million children who were born HIV-free. More than half the people living with HIV around the world receive lifesaving treatment through PEPFAR programs.

The numbers that cement PEPFAR’s legacy as one of the most successful government programs in history are a powerful justification for its continued existence.

Perhaps more powerful is the threat to progress that would be created by PEPFAR’s absence. According to a study, AIDS-related deaths could multiply by more than 400% by 2030 without PEPFAR, and that’s only in 12 high-burden countries. The number of children orphaned by AIDS could double.

This is not the future I want for the world. On this, I hope we can all find common ground.

I’m asking Rep. Jamie Raskin, Maryland Democrat, to support a clean, five-year reauthorization of PEPFAR so this critically important program can continue to save lives and move us closer to a day where everyone everywhere is safe from the threat of HIV/AIDS.