Population Action International Calls on U.S. to Reexamine Funding Criteria
Washington, DC - November 30, 2005Population Action International (PAI) today is calling on the Bush administration to evaluate whether current U.S. restrictions on international HIV/AIDS assistance allow the most effective use of U.S. funds.
“With 17.5 million women living with HIV and the proportion of women affected continually increasing, the U.S. must reexamine its funding criteria,” says Amy Coen, President and CEO of PAI. “The current strings attached to U.S. HIV/AIDS funds have tied up otherwise laudable intentions to prioritize women and girls in the global fight against AIDS.”
Themed “Stop AIDS. Keep the promise,” World AIDS Day 2005 calls for governments and policymakers to be held accountable to commitments made towards ending the scourge of HIV/AIDS. The President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) signals the United States’ commitment to HIV/AIDS prevention, care and treatment.
Restrictions on PEPFAR funds, however, weave a sticky web for both service providers and their clients. For example, with one-third of fiscal year 2006 PEPFAR funds earmarked for “abstinence-only” programs, married women are left at risk for contracting HIV. Requiring organizations to formally pledge their opposition to prostitution only serves to further stigmatize vulnerable populations. And with integration of family planning and HIV/AIDS programs increasingly being favored by public health practitioners, the Global Gag Rule – which restricts family planning funds – presents service providers with an unconscionable dilemma: how to best serve their patients while still relying on U.S. financial support.
“Among the essentials for stemming the spread of HIV and AIDS are political commitment, adequate funding and sound policies,” says Terri Bartlett, Vice President for Public Policy and Strategic Initiatives at PAI. “Sadly, sound policies are sorely lacking on the U.S. playbill. Unless informed policymaking takes center stage on the U.S. agenda, U.S. funds will be squandered – and too many women and girls will remain at high risk for contracting HIV.”Population Action International (PAI) today is calling on the Bush administration to evaluate whether current U.S. restrictions on international HIV/AIDS assistance allow the most effective use of U.S. funds.
“With 17.5 million women living with HIV and the proportion of women affected continually increasing, the U.S. must reexamine its funding criteria,” says Amy Coen, President and CEO of PAI. “The current strings attached to U.S. HIV/AIDS funds have tied up otherwise laudable intentions to prioritize women and girls in the global fight against AIDS.”
Population Action International (PAI) works to improve individual well-being and preserve global resources by mobilizing political and financial support for population, family planning and reproductive health policies and programs.
