Thousands of lives at stake if Congress flat-lines global AIDS funding
Catholic Relief Services
Website: http://www.crs.org
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Hilary Roxe: (410) 951-7408; hroxe@crs.org
Debbie DeVoe: (410) 951-7281; ddevoe@crs.org
Thousands of lives at stake if Congress flat-lines global AIDS funding;
Continuing resolution may be "death sentence for thousands" enrolled in CRS' PEPFAR programs
Jan. 18, 2007, Baltimore, Md. _ The lives of thousands of people affected by the global AIDS pandemic - including 13,000 enrolled in care from Catholic Relief Services (CRS) - are at stake if Congress fails to provide money pledged to a signature U.S. program. As part of its 2007 budget process, Congress is preparing a continuing resolution that would hold funding for the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), and other government activities, at 2006 levels, potentially cutting off life-saving services to patients in dire need.
About to enter the fourth year of its progressive five-year PEPFAR grant, CRS has consistently met enrollment targets, expanding its reach each year. Available funds were slated to increase accordingly, from $63.5 million in 2006-07 to $107 million in 2007-08, to meet the needs of this growing population. If the increase does not come through, the planned expansion could undercut the very success of the program. At least 13,000 people currently enrolled in care through CRS will become eligible for antiretroviral drugs in the last seven months of this fiscal year, but money would not be available to provide the medications promised to them. Several thousand from this group would die.
"Holding steady at last year's budget levels could be a death sentence for thousands," said CRS President Ken Hackett. "For many of the people we serve, there is literally nowhere else to turn."
CRS works closely with local partners, often targeting rural regions where there are few - or no - other health care providers. In a dry, remote area of western Zambia, for example, some patients walk nearly 40 miles to a mission hospital to receive care; without that facility, treatment would be nearly 250 miles away. Though CRS would work to find alternatives for patients cut off from services, there may be no other options.
In addition to the immediate impact patients and their families would feel, continuing PEPFAR funding at 2006 levels could have long-term effects on a program whose success depends on the credibility of agencies working under its auspices. By enrolling in CRS-supported programs, for example, patients are promised antiretroviral therapy when their conditions meet certain clinical criteria. Mid-stream changes in the budget would require CRS to break promises to those patients, and to local partners who serve boldly on the frontlines of this pandemic.
"In many places where CRS works, patients have to fight against entrenched stigma and discrimination surrounding HIV and AIDS when seeking care. We're now looking at a situation where priests, nurses and other care providers would have to turn away sick people," Hackett said. "It would be heartbreaking."
Catholic Relief Services is the official international humanitarian agency of the Catholic community in the United States. The agency provides assistance to people in 99 countries and territories based on need, regardless of race, nationality or creed.
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