What We're Reading: Sen. Lugar urges President to sustain PEPFAR commitment; Nurses critical to providing HIV prevention, care and treatment
Posted by
Robert Yule
Washington, D.C.
August 13, 2010
On the second anniversary of the bipartisan reauthorization of
PEPFAR, one of its key champions,
Sen. Richard Lugar (R-Ind.), wrote the
following letter to President Obama to ensure that the U.S. HIV/AIDS response is not diminished as it’s incorporated into the administration’s broader Global Health Initiative.
The Louisville Courier Journal echoed Lugar’s comments in an
editorial today, asking the President to show his commitment to the program’s continued success. It noted that in the first five years of PEPFAR, the program supported treatment or care to more than 12 million people, and services to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV for nearly 16 million pregnancies.
This week AIDSMap also covered a letter co-authored by Senior Foundation Technical Officer Suzanne Willard and published in the July 31 online edition of AIDS about the importance of nurses in the implementation of new HIV treatment guidelines issued by the WHO.
The letter details experiences in the U.S. with task-shifting – where nurses have taken on many duties previously undertaken by doctors, including prescribing antiretrovirals – that can be successful in PEPFAR-supported countries. It makes key recommendations to help ensure nurses have the necessary tools to help implement the new guidelines and provide client-centered HIV prevention, treatment and care as part of their daily practice.
By doing so, it will bring us closer to securing optimum health for all those living with HIV, and will enhance global efforts to decrease mother-to-child transmission and protect the health of mothers and children living with HIV.
Robert Yule is the Foundation's Media Manager, based in Washington, D.C.