Cultivating PEPFAR’s Congressional Champions
Of the U.S. Members of Congress who were in office when PEPFAR was originally authorized in 2003, only about 10% will still be in office after this year’s elections. That means most Members of the 119th Congress won’t have first-hand knowledge of the program’s impact. They did not witness for themselves what life was like in many countries before PEPFAR arrived. Without that level of familiarity, they may not have a true appreciation for all it has achieved.
Furthermore, one of PEPFAR’s most stalwart supporters, Representative Barbara Lee, is leaving at the end of this term. Her departure is a huge loss for our community. She has been an incredible champion, authoring or co-authoring every major piece of HIV/AIDS legislation. She is also the co-founder and co-chair of the HIV/AIDS Caucus. Hers are enormous shoes to fill.
Thankfully, there are people from both sides of the aisle who are ready to step up; Members of Congress who understand the importance of PEPFAR and the continued urgency in the global AIDS response. But there are many newer Members who are not as informed.
It is our job, as advocates, to change that. After new Members are sworn in, we will have a matter of months to educate them on:
- How unique PEPFAR is. There is no other disease program that rivals its scale and focus.
- It’s efficiency. Despite being essentially flat funded for over a decade, PEPFAR has continued to achieve remarkable progress.
- How many lives it has saved. Today, 28.7 million people are accessing life-saving treatment and new HIV infections have been reduced by 54% since the peak of the epidemic in 1996.
- It’s far-reaching impact. The investments made PEPFAR have extended well beyond HIV into education, economic growth, and the world’s perception of the United States.
The 2024 election cycle is far from over. But we should be planning ahead, whatever the outcomes, to ensure we are nurturing relationships with current PEPFAR supporters, and cultivating new champions in Congress.