U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR)

In 2003, the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) was launched to combat global HIV/AIDS - the largest commitment by any nation to combat a single disease in history. In 2008, successful advocacy efforts secured a reauthorization by Congress and President Obama to continue funding PEPFAR for five more years. Strong support from the faith community, including the ELCA, helped to ensure the

reauthorization, which allows for up to $48 billion to be invested in global health programs over the next five years — a threefold increase in funding. In addition to calling for increased funding, ELCA bishops and congregation members urged Congress to dedicate ten percent of PEPFAR funding to the care of orphans and vulnerable children and to increase funding for training health care workers; both provisions were reflected in the 2008 reauthorization.

In the first five years, $19 billion in PEPFAR funding:

supported life-saving treatment for more than 2.1 million men, women and children
reached an estimated 58.3 million people through community outreach programs
supported HIV counseling and testing for nearly 57 million people
supplied more than 2.2 billion condoms worldwide
supported antiretroviral treatment for nearly 1.2 million pregnant women found to be HIV-positive, allowing nearly 240,000 infants to be born HIV-free
supported care for more than 10.1 million people affected by HIV/AIDS worldwide, including more than 4 million orphans and vulnerable children

2009 PEPFAR achievements include

life-saving antiretroviral treatment for over 2.4 million men, women and children
care for nearly 11 million people affected by HIV and AIDS, including 3.6 million orphans and vulnerable children
treatment programs that allowed nearly 100,000 babies of HIV-positive mothers to be born HIV-free
HIV counseling and testing for nearly 29 million people