2/7/2008

Contact: Robert Yule
202-448-8456
ryule@pedaids.org

Statement of Pamela W. Barnes, President and Chief Executive Officer, The Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation

Proposals to maintain partisan, ideologically-driven mandates that constrain countries’ abilities to respond to their own epidemics threaten the continued success of the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).

In the past five years, PEPFAR has delivered services for prevention, care, and treatment to those who desperately need it in the fight against HIV/AIDS. But PEPFAR has been successful not because of provisions such as the mandatory abstinence set-aside, but in spite of them.

In April 2007, a report from the Institute of Medicine recommended removing arbitrary budget directives in PEPFAR. This would allow local governments to invest in the services and activities most needed to achieve their national goals and to ensure the long-term sustainability of these programs. As implementers working at more than 2,300 sites in 18 countries for many years, the Foundation recognizes the importance of providing maximum flexibility to effectively implement the highest quality prevention and treatment programs.

If ideological mandates had not diverted resources, we would have been able to provide even more services to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV. For instance, it would not be an effective use of resources to give abstinence messages to women who are already pregnant and looking for help in protecting their babies from HIV.

We are additionally concerned about proposals to eliminate the link between PMTCT and family planning services. According to the WHO, voluntary family planning is one of the four pillars of PMTCT, and the administration itself has been strongly supportive of this science-based, integrative approach. Rolling back the progress made in the past five years would be a huge mistake, and a missed opportunity to prevent even more infections.

As Congress moves to reauthorize this lifesaving program, it must unshackle PEPFAR’s resources and allow these funds to do more good, so we can provide the best possible care for more women and families around the world. Science and experience should drive PEPFAR reauthorization decisions, not ideology.

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About the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation
The Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation is a worldwide leader in the fight against pediatric AIDS. Its innovative research programs, collaborative training initiatives, advocacy efforts, and rapidly expanding international prevention and treatment programs are bringing dramatic changes to the lives of children worldwide.