Make the Call

Tell Congress to Increase Funding for Life-Saving HIV Programs Around the Globe

The House of Representatives is now proposing an emergency COVID-19 relief package that includes funding for PEPFAR and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria, as well as other global health funding. Now the Senate must act. Call Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and tell them the global HIV, TB, and malaria responses must be protected with funding in the COVID-19 emergency supplemental bill being negotiated right now:

Majority Leader McConnell: (202) 224-2541
Minority Leader Schumer: (202) 224-6542

We need Congress to:

  • Pass a COVID-19 emergency relief bill that includes $1.4 billion in funding for PEPFAR over two years and $4 billion for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria for the next two years.

Use this script:

“Hello, I’m ___________  from ___________. COVID-19 is disrupting the HIV, TB, and malaria responses in countries around the world and threatens to undo two decades of bipartisan work against these pandemics, causing a resurgence of disease and thousands of avoidable deaths. I’m calling to ask (Senator ____) to pass a COVID-19 emergency bill that includes $1.4 billion for PEPFAR over two years and $4 billion for the Global Fund over the next two years.”

Why Should You Make the Call?

Since 2001, the U.S. has been a leader in funding the global AIDS response. It is the biggest donor to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria, and home to the largest fund in history for a single disease: the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).

Political leadership from the U.S. through these two programs has made the end of the AIDS pandemic possible in the foreseeable future. However, the U.S. has recently failed to prioritize funding levels for PEPFAR and the Global Fund. Research from Kaiser Family Foundation shows these programs have been essentially flat-funded since 2010.

In recent years, there have been major scientific advancements within the HIV community, and new evidence shows that starting people on treatment upon diagnosis leads to considerably better outcomes. Research has also shown that when people are on treatment and have sustained viral suppression, they cannot transmit HIV.

In the absence of funding increases to PEPFAR and the Global Fund, the potential of these scientific breakthroughs has not been fully realized, at the cost of millions of human lives. According to UNAIDS, a $7.2 billion funding gap per year must be filled in order to achieve the global goal of ending AIDS as a global public health threat by 2030. Millions of lives depend on Congress to increase its investment in global health and the HIV response.