AdvaMed Calls for Reauthorization of AIDS Relief Program
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, AdvaMedDx, a division of AdvaMed representing manufacturers of innovative in vitro diagnostic tests, sent a letter urging Congressional leaders to prioritize the reauthorization of the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) program. PEPFAR funding lapsed at the end of the fiscal year 2023.
The group wrote in the letter, “Ending HIV/AIDS as a public health threat requires a sustained commitment from the U.S. Government. In the last twenty years, PEPFAR has brought reliable medical technology, including diagnostic tests, and quality medicine to Africa and other regions around the world while reducing the global threat of disease. Without the U.S.’s continued, long-term investment in this work, the fight against HIV/AIDS could decelerate and the reliability of health systems in PEPFAR countries could falter.
“We are concerned by the recent lapse in PEPFAR funding and efforts to advance only a one-year reauthorization of PEPFAR, rather than a longer-standing reauthorization. We believe this uncertainty will lead to health system investments made through PEPFAR becoming shorter in duration, costing more, providing more limited functionality, and ultimately destabilizing capabilities for future pandemic response.”
The program, over the course of its 20-year history, has contributed to improved health outcomes across the more than 50 countries where PEPFAR operates, saving 25 million lives and providing 20.1 million people with necessary antiretroviral treatment. This has led to 5.5 million babies born HIV-free to mothers living with HIV and a substantial decline in new HIV diagnoses globally.
Read the full letter here.