PEPFAR reauthorization 'rests with Congress,' OGAC official says

Speaking at a briefing on Tuesday at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington, D.C., Deputy Global AIDS Coordinator Julia Martin said "[t]he decision about whether to reauthorize [PEPFAR] 'rests with Congress. ... Whether we move in that direction is yet to be fully determined but PEPFAR will continue at the will of Congress,'" CQ HealthBeat reports. "Many advocates assume that lawmakers are preoccupied with other international priorities and will not focus on PEPFAR enough to move a bill," the news service writes, adding, "Even without a reauthorization, the program can continue." The briefing, co-sponsored by CSIS and the Kaiser Family Foundation, focused on the Institute of Medicine's (IOM) Evaluation of PEPFAR, which was released in February, the news service notes. "Martin said at the briefing that federal officials can move forward with IOM recommendations without the need for legislation," CQ HealthBeat writes (Adams, 4/30). According to the event's webpage, J. Stephen Morrison, CSIS vice president and director of the CSIS Global Health Policy Center, moderated the panel, which included Martin; Chris Collins, vice president and director of public policy at amfAR, the Foundation for AIDS Research; Jennifer Kates, vice president and director of global health and HIV policy at the Kaiser Family Foundation; and Kimberly Scott, senior program officer at the Institute of Medicine (4/30).