Washington, D.C., Nov. 29, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation (EGPAF) commends the U.S. House and Senate for passing H.R. 6651: PEPFAR Extension Act of 2018. This legislation demonstrates the U.S. government’s long-standing, bipartisan commitment to the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and defeating HIV worldwide.
EGPAF thanks Senators Bob Corker (R-TN) and Robert Menendez (D-NJ) as well as Representatives Ed Royce (R-CA), Eliot Engel (D-NY), Chris Smith (R-NJ), Barbara Lee (D-CA), Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), and Karen Bass (D-CA) for their leadership and dedication to the global fight against HIV/AIDS. As one of PEPFAR’s earliest partners and implementers, EGPAF has been proud to support the transformative progress U.S. investment has enabled since the program’s creation in 2003.
“Power may have shifted between Democrats and Republicans over the years, but the promise of PEPFAR has endured. And as the challenges presented by the AIDS epidemic have continued to shift, PEPFAR has evolved. The success and longevity of this program speak to the commitment and generosity of the American people,” Charles Lyons, EGPAF’s President and CEO, stated. “By putting over 14 million people on lifesaving treatment and preventing countless infections, PEPFAR stemmed what seemed like an impossibly rough tide. Now, we must take the next critical steps—and faster. To create the first AIDS-free generation, we have to scale up early infant diagnosis and link children to treatment, engage adolescents in care and prevention, and ensure that every pregnant and breastfeeding woman with HIV has access to services.”
Each day, over 400 children are infected with the virus. Although most will die before age five without treatment, only half of the world’s HIV-positive children currently have access to the lifesaving medication they need.
EGPAF is eager to continue its work with Congress to strengthen and sustain the PEPFAR program and advance the global fight to end HIV/AIDS.
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EGPAF is the global leader in the fight against pediatric HIV/ AIDS and has reached more than 27 million pregnant women with services to prevent transmission of HIV to their babies. Founded in 1988, EGPAF today supports activities in 19 countries and over 5,000 sites to implement prevention, care, and treatment services; to further advance innovative research; and to execute global advocacy activities that bring dramatic change to the lives of millions of women, children, and families worldwide. For more information, visit www.pedaids.org.