Jamila Headley, Managing Director of the Health Global Access Project (Health GAP) issued the following statement:
“Last year, President Trump unveiled his global AIDS strategy in the form of a plan to slash $1 billion from the HIV treatment, prevention and care that makes it possible for millions of people around the world to live healthier, happier lives. Thanks to sustained grassroots pressure, last night Congress flatly rejected the Trump plan and instead funded life-saving global AIDS programs at the same level as the previous year.
“The reality is, funding for the U.S. global HIV response has been stagnating for years, and it’s time for a reckoning. Though Congress took a step in the right direction by rejecting Trump’s cuts, 1 in 2 people living with HIV still don’t have access to life-saving treatment and while it’s possible to end AIDS as an epidemic by 2030, we won’t get there without $850 million in additional PEPFAR funding in the fiscal year 2019 budget – the minimum amount needed to put us on track.”
