IPS examines PEPFAR guidance on family planning in light of new AIDS blueprint

Noting the U.S. government on Thursday "unveiled a major new strategy for pushing towards achieving an 'AIDS-free generation,'" Inter Press Service writes, "The far-reaching new blueprint for what's known as the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) is being widely lauded, yet little attention has been given to a document, published in October, that stipulates how new PEPFAR funding can be used." The news service notes, "[a]ccording to that guidance, 'PEPFAR funds may not be used to purchase family planning commodities.'" "The language in the guidance was put there to make clear what exactly (PEPFAR) could and couldn't pay for -- that's problematic,' Mary Beth Hastings with the Center for Health and Gender Equity, a Washington advocacy group, told IPS," the news service writes. An unnamed spokesperson from PEPFAR "told IPS ... that 'there are other entities, particularly USAID, that meet that need [for family planning]. We're very interested in integrating our services,'" the news service writes (Biron, 11/29).