American lawmakers and activists are pushing for more action to battle HIV/AIDS and putting more pressure on President Barack Obama as the 25th yearly observance of World AIDS Day looms.
Forty lawmakers of both parties called on the president earlier this month to "double its support of treatment of lifesaving anti-retroviral drugs by the end of his presidency through the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR)," USA TODAY reported.
Credited with providing millions of Africans with anti-retroviral drugs since its establishment, PEPFAR is said to have led to 1 million babies globally being born HIV-free.
Headed by Republican Sen. Tom Coburn of Oklahoma and Democrat Rep. Barbarba Lee of California, the 40 lawmakers told Obama that setting a higher goal of treating 12 million through PEPFAR "will not only save millions of lives but will also significantly reduce human suffering, new HIV infections, and healthcare costs in the years to come."
They hope Obama will announce the goal at an international conference in Washington next week. Representatives from donor countries will gather to discuss the three-year cycle for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.
The Obama administration has pledged up to $1.65 billion to the fund for next year. The pledge hinges on the condition that other countries donate at least $3.3 billion, following the 1:2 funding ratio set by Congress.
The White House won't set a new treatment target until early 2014, but the administration will announce next week that the 2011 goal to treat 6 million people through the program has been completed, according to Gayle Smith, the senior director for development and democracy at the White House National Security Council.
"We've still got time before the replenishment conference kicks off and then the months after that when countries can continue to step up," Smith said. "We will set a new target and will continue to lead, and want our target to reflect what the global fund is going to do, what other donors and NGOs are going to do and, significantly, what [other] governments themselves are going to do."
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