[Viva] Fwd: PEPFAR: "Keep the Promise" on AIDS

[Margarite Sanchez]

More on the March on Washington.


---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: March on Washington 2012 <c+ahf at trusted-sender.convio.net>
Date: Wed, Apr 11, 2012 at 5:48 PM
Subject: PEPFAR: "Keep the Promise" on AIDS
To: margaritesanchez at gmail.com


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PEPFAR:
“Keep the Promise” on AIDS
 <http://takeaction.aidshealth.org/site/R?i=qA3VwZuAhpY30Nyc3G0-Vg> [image:
March Countdown]<http://takeaction.aidshealth.org/site/R?i=0u06zLhhaDERwM1FY2VEYA>

The “Keep the Promise” March on Washington Declaration calls on the United
States to continue to fulfill its commitment to the President’s Emergency
Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). Recent cuts to PEPFAR are already being felt
around the world.

In South Africa nearly 4,000 HIV-positive adults and 1,000 children will be
forced to seek lifesaving antiretroviral treatment (ART) elsewhere once the
McCord Hospital near Durban shuts down its antiretroviral clinic over the
next few months. This is following an announcement by officials from PEPFAR
that they intend to phase out funding for the clinic. According to the
hospital administration, all patients currently on ART will be transferred
to public health clinics.

“We are already observing an influx of HIV patients to our clinic from
McCord Hospital’s treatment site,” said *Hilary Thulare, the Country
Program Manager at AHF’s Ithembalanbantu* (People's Hope) clinic in Durban,
South Africa. “The ART program closure at the hospital is having a tangible
impact on the community and patients who must stringently adhere to an
antiretroviral regimen are now at risk of treatment interruptions as they
look for new places to access their medications.”

[image: March Countdown]<http://takeaction.aidshealth.org/site/R?i=L3HGCZ7CceY9Ol_pQsgIxQ>The
cutbacks to PEPFAR come a few months after President Obama announced on
World AIDS Day that the United States would scale up its commitment to
fighting AIDS by providing treatment for up to 6 million people by 2013.
However, a recently released budget proposal for fiscal year 2013 indicates
that the Administration plans to cut funding for PEPFAR and scale up
contributions to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.
As a consequence of the proposed changes, the combined funding for both
programs would be significantly reduced by about $220 million, inevitably
leading to reduced services and treatment for people living with HIV
globally.

“Cutbacks in PEPFAR funding for lifesaving treatment programs, like the one
at McCord’s Hospital, in South Africa—a country with one of the highest HIV
prevalence rates in the world—are putting millions of lives in danger,”
said *Terri Ford, Senior Director of Global Policy and Advocacy* at AHF.
“By taking the unprecedented step of reducing funding for PEPFAR, the Obama
Administration is flip-flopping on its own recent promise to put 6 million
people on treatment by 2013. This action jeopardizes progress that South
Africa has achieved in its revitalized efforts to stop AIDS. ”

[image: PEPFAR Logo
1]<http://takeaction.aidshealth.org/site/R?i=e5ybzIAUXL5yhM6apKwymw>This
shell game signals an alarming retreat in the United States’ commitment to
fighting AIDS. The closure of McCord’s treatment clinic means that some of
the 5,000 ART patients could get lost during the transition to other
clinics or drop out of treatment and develop drug resistance.

Never before has a President sought to reduce America’s commitment to
fighting AIDS. The lives of real people are at stake. You can make a
difference, please join the March on
Washington<http://takeaction.aidshealth.org/site/R?i=qr0E3P5538RV_l5Mqe6B-w>and
call on President Obama to keep his promise and fully fund PEPFAR.
[image: March Countdown]<http://takeaction.aidshealth.org/site/R?i=KvenuQ62OnzL1SSN3mAs0w>
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