In his State of the Union address in 2003, President George Bush originally announced the PEPFAR program. It is the largest aid commitment ever made by any nation for an international health initiative to fight a single disease --- HIV/AIDS.
At the time of the original announcement, only 50,000 people were receiving treatment for HIV/AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa. The original commitment was $15 billion over a 5 year period. The results have been phenomenal. As the president stated in his address, the program helped provide antiretroviral treatment for over 1.4 million men women and children through September 30, 2007. Over 86,000 children, age 14 and under, are receiving this life saving treatment. In addition 62% of the individuals on direct PEPFAR support are women and children.
The program has been built on an A-B-C approach to the prevention of HIV/AIDS. Three keys to preventing the spread of this dreaded disease are Abstinence programs, Be faithful programs, and using Condoms. Together, these three reduce the number of partners and prevent risky behaviors. A report to Congress stated that the Abstinence and Be faithful programs have reached more than 40 million people including nearly 11 million primary-age children. At the same time, studies suggest that those programs that have begun to shift to condom-only paradigms are less effective at curbing the HIV infection rate. This has been observed in both Uganda and Botswana.
The benefit of the abstinence aspect of the PEPFAR program thus far is that it has helped create a change in personal behavior and social/ sexual norms among young people. The amazing results of PEPFAR’s first few years is the beginning of changing the way an entire generation views life, family, and health.
In spite of these facts, pro-abortion, anti-family ideology has gripped current policy makers. The newly proposed bill plans to undo rules that prevent money from going to abortions, while continuing to fund other aspects of family planning. Policy makers would also like to do away with a pledge that recipients of PEPFAR monies will not support the legalization of prostitution or sex trafficking. But this not a prudish limitation; the groups funded may still provide condoms or condom information to prostitutes. The pledge was conceived of to "ensure that pimps and brothel owners don't become U.S. government partners," according to, Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J. architect of the pledge and policy.
Rep. Mike Pence, R-Ind., described the problem very succinctly. He said that these new adjustments to the AIDS program "would transform the program into a mega-funding pool for organizations with an abortion promotion agenda."
Bishop Harry Jackson speaks at the PEPFAR press conference
Congressman Mike Pence, flanked by Bishop Harry Jackson, speaks at the PEPFAR press conference.
