Congress Boosts HIV/AIDS Efforts

World Hope International (WHI) and its partners in the Association of Evangelical Relief and Development Organizations (AERDO) received good news this week in their effort to fight HIV/AIDS around the world. The House of Representatives took the first steps to legislate continuation of the work of the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) for after the current administration leaves office. PEPFAR grant funding is essential to the work of organizations like WHI and its partners, and reauthorization of these funds ensures continuation of critical work leading the fight against HIV/AIDS.

The AERDO HIV/AIDS Alliance (AHA) enthusiastically supports the bipartisan compromise that was approved February 27 by the US House Foreign Affairs Committee. The Committee’s approval of the bill provides renewed bilateral momentum toward the passage of legislation that will continue the impact of the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).

In approving this bill, the Foreign Affairs Committee adopted several key components that were strongly supported by AHA, the most important of which is the maintenance of a balanced approach to HIV prevention that includes support for evidence-based abstinence and behavior change prevention programs.

“The AERDO HIV/AIDS Alliance is very pleased with this bill and we would like to thank all the members of the Committee and the White House for their concerted efforts to come up with a bill that keeps this tremendous program on track and moving forward into the next decade,” said David Evans, Food for the Hungry’s Vice President of Government Resources and Programs and leader of AHA. “This is only the first step of many in this legislative process, but it is a big one and we want to take a moment to celebrate this success.”

Nine AHA members currently implement AHA-led PEPFAR grants worth over $39 million in six countries with programs focused on prevention via abstinence and faithfulness among youth, care for orphans and vulnerable children, and palliative and home-based care for people living with HIV and AIDS. Lead agencies for these grants include Food for the Hungry, World Concern, Nazarene Compassionate Ministries, World Hope International, and the Christian Reformed World Relief Committee.

AHA is a consortium of thirteen faith-based organizations, all of which are members of the Association of Evangelical Relief and Development Organizations (AERDO).

Click here to read more about WHI’s HIV/AIDS work. Visit AERDO to learn more about this consortium and its work.