amfAR Praises PEPFAR Reauthorization, Yet Concerns Over One-Year Authorization and Implications for U.S. Global Health Leadership Remain

NEW YORK, March 22, 2024 — amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research, today responded to the Congressional vote to reauthorize PEPFAR (the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief), which has grown to be a landmark global health initiative that has, until recently, enjoyed strong and persistent bipartisan support.

amfAR applauds the program’s reauthorization but a one-year reauthorization signals to other countries that ending the HIV pandemic is no longer a priority of the United States. The diminished timeline sets up yet another fight in Congress next year and undermines the authority of the U.S. as a leader in global public health.

“The fact that a U.S. global health initiative that has delivered such an extraordinary return on investment over two decades could be in jeopardy is an indictment of the current state of our politics,” said amfAR Chief Executive Officer Kevin Robert Frost. “Naturally, we are relieved that this short-term reauthorization has been approved, but while AIDS remains a global health threat, we must ensure the long-term vitality and continued success of this lifesaving program.”

A study has shown that even a six-month interruption of HIV treatment and prevention services provided by PEPFAR would lead to an additional, and unnecessary, 107,300 pediatric HIV infections and 20,600 childhood AIDS deaths within just one year. PEPFAR is simply too important for partisan politics.

PEPFAR operates in more than 50 countries around the world, is credited with saving 25 million lives, has provided 20 million people with access to antiretroviral medication, and has helped more than 5.5 million babies to be born HIV-free. It is perhaps the most successful public health program of all time and has secured bipartisan support for reauthorization three times – in 2008, 2013, and 2018 – until last year.

“It is no exaggeration to call PEPFAR one of the most successful initiatives undertaken by the U.S. government in its history,” amfAR Vice President and Director of Public Policy Greg Millett said. “To see it kneecapped by disinformation perpetuated by the very elected officials who’ve sworn an oath to act in the best interests of Americans is disheartening. Reauthorization is one step of many required to right the ship.”

About amfAR 
amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research, is one of the world’s leading nonprofit organizations dedicated to the support of AIDS research, HIV prevention, treatment education, and advocacy. Since 1985, amfAR has raised nearly $900 million in support of its programs and has awarded more than 3,800 grants to research teams worldwide. Learn more at www.amfAR.org

Media Contact:
Robert Kessler, Program Communications Manager
(212) 806-1602
robert.kessler@amfar.org

---