AHF calls upon Congress to immediately pass 'HIV/AIDS Saves Lives First Act of 2010'

AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) will host a press teleconference on Thursday, July 22^nd, at 1:00 PM Eastern (U.S.A.)/10:00 AM Pacific to urge the United States Congress to immediately pass the HIV/AIDS Saves Lives First Act of 2010. Introduced in the Senate Wednesday by Senator Tom Coburn, MD (R-OK), the bill seeks to save lives by making better use of existing resources for PEPFAR (the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief), the US' successful global AIDS program. Solutions include making the delivery of lifesaving AIDS treatment the #1 priority of the program by increasing the treatment allocation to 75% of all funding; requiring more efficiency with a treatment allocation of $500 annually per patient; and, ensuring that the money goes to patients by limiting administrative overhead to 10% of total expenditures per grantee. The plan sets a five-year target to treat 5 million by 2013 — an increase of 2 million more than the current PEPFAR projected goal to treat 3 million by the end of 2010.

"AHF would like to thank Senator Coburn for introducing this timely and prudent global AIDS funding bill and we urge Congress to pass it quickly in order to save countless lives," said Michael Weinstein, President of AIDS Healthcare Foundation. "As the world's focus turns to global AIDS this week during the International AIDS Conference in Vienna, I can hardly think of a more positive move the US could make than to immediately pass and implement this bill which makes the delivery of lifesaving AIDS treatment to patients in need the number one priority of PEPFAR. It is time to end the US' retreat on global AIDS and the 'HIV/AIDS Save Lives First Act of 2010' could be the first major step in that direction."

Earlier this month, five AIDS treatment clients and medical care providers from AHF Healthcare Centers in Uganda visited Washington, D.C. to lobby Congress for increased efficiency in PEPFAR by limiting the amount spent on treatment, limiting overhead and increasing the treatment allocation to 75% of all funding.