 
February 5, 2008
The Politics of PEPFAR
As the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) comes up again for Congressional renewal, political tensions are also being renewed, reports the Associated Press (AP)/Yahoo News (news.yahoo.com, 2/20). The program addresses HIV/AIDS in the Caribbean, Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, now treating approximately 1.4 million people around the world, the AP adds.
President Bush’s final State of the Union address, delivered January 28, proposed that PEPFAR spending be doubled, from $15 billion to $30 billion. However, some House Democrats are pushing to triple the spending, the article says.
The AP reports that both Democrats and Republicans support PEPFAR overall, but many Democrats want to cut spending on one component of the program that mandates that a third of all prevention money go to prevention programs that include the promotion of abstinence. The article also notes another controversial issue surrounding PEPFAR: its provision forbidding grants to groups providing medical care to sex workers.
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