By Crystal Swann
June 4, 2007

President Bush, in a White House Rose Garden announcement on May 30, called on Congress to commit $30 billion in funding over five years beginning after September 2008 to combat AIDS treatment. The request would double the current spending of $15 billion and would extend the program to 2013. The increased commitment Bush is seeking would pay for AIDS treatment for 2.5 million people in 15 countries, more than double the 1.1 million who now receive it through the program.

The President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPAR) is by far the most aggressive financial commitment by nation to combat the global HIV/AIDS epidemic or another single disease. In a press release, the nation’s mayors joined Congress and many international organizations in praising the President’s proposal.

Through last September, the American initiative was paying for anti-retroviral treatment for 822,000 people in the “target countries:” 12 African nations, plus Guyana, Haiti and Vietnam.

The program also pays for drugs for 165,000 people elsewhere in the developing world, and has provided short courses of medicine to more than 500,000 pregnant women - a strategy that has prevented about 100,000 infections to newborns, program officials say.

“The HIV/AIDS epidemic remains an enormous health emergency. And as a world leader, the United States must continue to allocate sufficient resources for programs to fight and prevent this disease,” said Conference of Mayors Executive Director Tom Cochran, joining the call for Congress to expedite the approval for more funding.

Nevertheless, the Conference is calling for a more aggressive approach by the federal government on the domestic front. Since 1985, The U.S. Conference of Mayors, in cooperation with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, has provided over $13.1 million in grants to local health departments and community-based organizations to implement HIV prevention and education programs. The goal of this effort is to strengthen the capacity of local service providers to carry out effective HIV/AIDS prevention activities.

The Conference of Mayors and the nation’s mayors have been on the forefront of the domestic AIDS epidemic since the early 80’s. The mayors learned first-hand about the overwhelming impact of the AIDS epidemic on the African people during the Conference’s Mission to Africa in 2003.

“Twenty-five years ago, U.S. mayors were faced with the AIDS epidemic and they swiftly moved to educate the citizens of our nation on HIV/AIDS prevention and education. After our Africa fact-finding mission, U.S. Mayors gained a better understanding of the enormous impact that HIV/AIDS is having on the African Continent and the challenges that African Mayors face to combat this disease. We applaud President Bush’s leadership and courage in calling on Congress to increase funding for global AIDS initiatives,” Cochran said.