The Future of HIV/AIDS Funding

FYI....If you live in GA, use the info listed below to contact. If not, after you read this, click HERE.

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Dear Stephaun,


We have some hopeful news! The next incarnation of the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) has been drafted and is heading to committee on Thursday, February 7. This bill is phenomenal - but those who oppose it are already mobilizing forces to defeat it and roll back HIV/AIDS funding back to dangerously low levels. This is where we need your help.

The bill contains wonderful expansions and programs to PEPFAR, and we are grateful to Congressman Lantos, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, who worked hard to create the best possible bill. Some of the most exciting elements of the bill include:


* continuing the progress towards treating the U.S. share of one-third of the people with HIV in developing countries
* ending the required abstinence-only-till-marriage earmark which has been shown to be unworkable
* training and support for hundreds of thousands of urgently needed new healthcare workers
* $50 billion over five years - the minimum funding increase needed to support the program, instead of the flat-funding proposed by outgoing President Bush
* more flexible support for needle exchange programs worldwide,
* an expansion of the program to include tuberculosis, malaria, nutrition, new protections for the rights of women and young people and microbicides, and
* a repeal of the shameful HIV immigration ban.
*

We need you to reach out to your Congressperson TODAY and tell them you support Chairman Lantos' version of the bill. Please take five minutes out of your day and help us safeguard the future of US HIV/AIDS programs.


Call Representative David Scott at (770) 210-5073 today!

What to say:

Hi, my name is _____ and I'm calling from _____. I would like to speak to your staffer who handles global HIV/AIDS and the reauthorization of PEPFAR. I wanted to get in touch in order to express my support for the bill that Chairman Lantos is offering. I fully support these programs and hope that Representative Scott does as well. We need to fulfill our commitment to the world and I am counting on Representative Scott's leadership on this issue. Thank you so much for you time and support for this bill.


Or you can email your Representative by clicking Here.


Please contact Representative Scott's office as soon as possible by any means you choose and then ask your fellow Georgians to do the same. Then please let me know how your interaction went!

We will keep you up to date as this battle in DC wages. Thank you for your time and commitment. You truly made a world of difference today!



Mary Peterson

Grassroots Coordinator

Global AIDS Alliance

1413 K St. NW 4th Floor

Washington, DC 20005

(202) 789-0432 ext. 212

mpeterson@globalaidsalliance.org



Help us "Pep up" PEPFAR! http://www.globalaidsalliance.org/page/s/pepuppepfar



"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world, indeed it's the only thing that ever has."

- Margaret Mead