Eyes on the Prize Legislative & Policy Update (June 2006)
If you have questions or comments about Eyes on the Prize, please email Lisa at lschechtman@globalaidsalliance.org.
If you're not already a member of GAA's Grassroots Network, click here to sign up today. We'll send you monthly action alerts and bimonthly editions of Eyes on the Prize, invite you to join conference calls on a range of topics, and provide you with current information on work in Washington, D.C., and elsewhere to fight HIV/AIDS and provide education for all.
Thanks for reading. And thanks for all you do!
In this edition of Eyes on the Prize:
PEPFAR Abstinence-Only-Until-Marriage Earmark
Orphans and Other Vulnerable Children Legislation
Universal Basic Education
Gender-based Violence
The Global Fund
Abuja Declaration & UNGASS
Grassroots Conference Call July 11
Looking Ahead
PEPFAR Abstinence-Only-Until-Marriage Earmark
Although the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) won't be up for reauthorization until 2008, civil society and allied members of Congress are already beginning the battle to remove the damaging one-third earmark for abstinence-only-until-marriage programming and to shift US attention to the increasing feminization of the pandemic.
Just last week Representative Barbara Lee (D-CA 9th) introduced a bold piece of legislation, the Protection against Transmission of HIV for Women and Youth Act of 2006 (PATHWAY Act). Introduced with bipartisan support, the bill would require the President and the Office of the Global AIDS Coordinator (OGAC) to establish a comprehensive and integrated HIV prevention strategy to address the particular vulnerabilities of women and girls to HIV infection. It would also require OGAC to clarify the requirements of the dangerous Prostitution Loyalty Oath, which demands that organizations receiving US HIV/AIDS money declare their opposition to prostitution and places ambiguous restrictions on use of US funds in programs with sex workers.
Finally and most importantly, the bill would completely strike the earmark requiring that one-third of all prevention funding be dedicated to abstinence-until-marriage programs. The bill has been referred to the House International Relations Committee; now is a great time for grassroots activists to let their representatives know how dangerous the earmark and the Prostitution Loyalty Oath are, and to call for responsible policy that protects women and girls, regardless of whether they are married.
Senator Diane Feinstein (D-CA) has taken a slightly different approach to challenging the earmark. She is considering introducing a bill, the HIV Prevention for Youth Act of 2006, which would set the stage for future advocacy to eliminate the earmark entirely. The bill would do three major things. First, it states that sexually active young people, both unmarried and married, who live in a country where HIV is spreading through the general population, should be considered at high risk of HIV and provided with the knowledge and tools to protect themselves from HIV. Second, the bill's language clarifies that abstinence-until-marriage program funding may be used to support the "wide range of approaches" that lead to abstinence. This means that these funds could be used to support comprehensive (AB&C) programs that lead to delayed or reduced sexual activity before marriage, rather than being narrowly interpreted as meaning only abstinence. Finally, the legislation would require that that the one-third abstinence-only earmark applies only to that money intended for the prevention of sexual transmission, rather than for all forms of prevention (such as mother-to-child transmission, blood safety, or injection drug use). This effectively reduces the total amount of money from which the one-third is taken, reducing the amount of money spent on abstinence-only programs. It is an interim step toward striking the earmark entirely.
The PATHWAY Act is a very important piece of legislation, and the GAA will work hard to advocate for its success. Your help will be an important element of this work, as we will be seeking support from Representatives from across the country and using the bill to educate people everywhere about the dangers of current US global AIDS policy. To help you get started protecting women and girls from HIV and working toward the ultimate elimination of the abstinence-only earmark, the GAA will focus its next Grassroots Conference Call on Representative Lee's important legislative initiatives.
Orphans and Other Vulnerable Children Legislation
Since passage of the Assistance for Orphans and Other Vulnerable Children (OVC) in Developing Countries Act of 2005 in November 2005, the GAA has continued working with Global Action for Children (GAC) and other children's and HIV/AIDS activists to see that the law is fully and effectively implemented.
The US Government is in the final stages of preparing the OVC Strategy mandated by the legislation, and of appointing a Special Advisor on OVC. The GAA is continuing its hard work to ensure that the US Government does the right thing for the world's vulnerable kids.
There are three issues of particular importance to the GAA. First, we are focused on keeping the OVC staff and programming separate from that designated for HIV and AIDS. While many children are directly impacted by HIV, and some are even living with HIV, there are a number of other factors that make children vulnerable. So the GAA and GAC are focused on ensuring that the 10% of US funding for global AIDS now earmarked for OVC programs is used for comprehensive OVC work, rather than being dedicated to pediatric AIDS treatment and other programs focused exclusively on AIDS. Additionally, the GAA is advocating for new US OVC programs to be implemented in as many countries as possible. Finally, the GAA is working to ensure that the OVC Special Advisor position be filled by the right person—someone with experience working with orphans and other vulnerable children, commitment to the OVC bill and its intent, and both the power and desire to make great things happen.
Keep your eyes peeled for future GAA work on funding for orphans and other vulnerable children, on the 10% earmark and on implementation of the OVC Act. The world's kids are counting on you!
Universal Basic Education
In early April, UK Chancellor of the Exchequer, Gordon Brown, and Secretary of State for International Development, Hilary Benn, committed that the UK Government would spend at least $15 billion, or £8.5 billion, on aid for education over the next ten years. Then, only a couple of weeks later, Benn announced an additional $170 million (£100 million) for universal basic education. This money is dedicated to the World Bank's Education for All—Fast Track Initiative (FTI), a global partnership between donor and beneficiary countries designed to help meet the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) of universal basic education by 2015.
These announcements are groundbreaking! The UK's $15 billion will be used by that government to enter into 10-year agreements with under-resourced countries to finance 10-year education plans. This commitment is vital, as it will ensure the long-term commitment needed to deliver high-quality education for all. This £8.5 billon compares to a figure of less than £2 billion spent on education over the past 10 years. The additional $170 million for the FTI will fill nearly a quarter of the current funding gap faced by this important program, which now supports 54 countries technically and financially in fulfilling their national education strategies.
Shortly after the UK Government announcement, the UN stated that more than 18 million new primary school teachers will be needed over the next nine years in order to meet the MDG of providing universal basic education by 2015. Thanks to the UK Government, this international goal seems a bit closer to reality. We'll let you know how you can help take it all the way.
Gender-Based Violence
The House Foreign Operations Report that accompanies the Foreign Operations Appropriations bill expressed an outstanding commitment to addressing the role that violence against women and girls plays in spreading HIV and perpetuating the feminization of the pandemic. The Committee required that the Office of the Global AIDS Coordinator (OGAC) increase efforts to provide post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) for HIV to survivors of sexual violence in rural and urban areas; PEP is a short, intense course of antiretrovirals intended to prevent individuals who have had high-risk sexual encounters from acquiring HIV. The Committee also emphasized the need to provide psychological support services to survivors of violence; to conduct gender-based violence prevention with youth; and to increase constructive male engagement during pregnancy and the antenatal period. Recognizing the feminization of the HIV pandemic, the Committee also recommended increased support for research and development of microbicides, which, once approved for use, may give women the option to control their risk of acquiring HIV like never before. The GAA will continue to work very hard to ensure that this terrific language is likewise included in the Senate Appropriations Committee Report, and maintained in Conference so that it will become law.
The Global Fund
Despite the fact that President Bush's budget request for HIV/AIDS went up to almost $4 billion for fiscal year 2007, nearly $1 billion more than last year, Congress continues to put up roadblocks to fully allocating funds to important HIV programs and other lifesaving efforts funding by the US Government.
House Appropriations Committee Chairman Jerry Lewis (R-CA 41st) and Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Thad Cochran (R-MS) each cut over $2 billion from the President's request for Foreign Operations. This is a huge blow to global AIDS programming, and we will all need to work even harder to regain some of this funding in Conference. Despite a Presidential request of only $300 million for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, the Senate did allocate $445 million to the Fund. In the House, however, Representative Ralph Regula (R-OH 16th), Chairman of the Labor, Health and Human Services (Labor-H) Subcommittee of the Appropriations Committee, did some serious damage to the Global Fund by refusing to honor the President's request that $100 million of the US contribution to the Global Fund come from Labor-H.
The GAA will soon be sending action alerts asking you to urge restoration of Foreign Operations funding to the level requested by the President and to help protect the Global Fund.
Abuja Declaration & UNGASS
In early May 2006, the Heads of State of African Union member countries met at the Special Summit of the African Union on HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (ATM). At the ATM they reviewed the 2000 and 2001 Abuja Declarations and Plans of Action on Malaria, and HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Other Related Infectious Diseases respectively, with an eye toward creating an African Common Position for the UN General Assembly Special Session on HIV/AIDS (UNGASS) five-year review, scheduled for later that same month in New York City.
The result of the ATM was a Common Position that renewed African commitment to and concern about HIV/AIDS and other serious infectious diseases. The Common Position stated that donor funding is inadequate and unpredictable; the chronic shortage of health care workers is serious and dangerous; gender inequity and violence against women have a serious impact on the feminization of HIV/AIDS; access to treatment and commodities is poor; education is fundamental to prevention; and orphans and other vulnerable children, along with other vulnerable groups, need special attention. The Common Position also set a number of targets for 2010, including ensuring that at least 80% of everyone who needs it can access treatment for HIV/AIDS, with particular attention to children; providing voluntary counseling and testing to at least 80% of the target population; providing 100% access to sexual and reproductive health care; and reducing by 80% all tariffs and taxes on essential medicines and commodities for HIV/AIDS. African civil society played a very important role in the outcome of the Abuja Summit. Congratulations to everyone who was involved!
Unlike the Abuja Declaration, however, the UNGASS Declaration failed to provide meaningful international targets on prevention, care and treatment of HIV and AIDS. Not only that, UN member states also refused to state clearly the impact on the HIV and AIDS pandemics had by injection drug use, sex work, and men who have sex with men. In addition, civil society that attended UNGASS reported that the very African governments who set such meaningful targets in the Abuja Common Position reneged on those promises in negotiating the UNGASS Declaration. In addition, the United States was very damaging to efforts at setting targets, particularly around drug pricing, trade agreements, and prevention. On the positive side, the alarming feminization of the pandemic was recognized in the Declaration, but this recognition was undermined by some of the world's more oppressive governments, which hesitated to promote comprehensive sexuality education and sexual health rights. The Declaration acknowledged that $23 billion is needed each year by 2010 to properly address the HIV/AIDS pandemic, but no promises were made to provide this money. In the end, the Declaration was weak, making civil society advocacy all the more important in holding governments accountable for adequate and responsible funding, science-based programming that meets the real needs of populations at risk, and comprehensive attention to factors that impact the HIV/AIDS pandemic.
Civil society and individual activists like you really made our voices heard at UNGASS by holding a huge and very successful demonstration to demand action from world leaders.
Grassroots Conference Call July 11
Please join GAA for a grassroots conference call to discuss a bold new legislative initiatives aimed at improving policy that governs the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). For more information on the legislation we will discuss, see the previous discussion of PEPFAR's abstinence-only-until-marriage earmark. The call will take place on Tuesday, July 11, at 7:30 p.m. EST. To join the call, dial 1-800-244-9194, and then enter passcode 658520, followed by #. Healy Thompson of the Center for Health and Gender Equity will be our special guest speaker. The call will last around 30 minutes. Please email grassroots@globalaidsalliance.org with questions.
Looking Ahead
The appropriations cycle for fiscal year 2007 is about to enter the conference stage, when leaders from the House and Senate Appropriations Committees get together to sort out the differences in their versions of the budgets, and decide what stays and what goes. This is the perfect time for you to make your voices heard loud and clear! Given important differences in the House and Senate appropriations, and given the shortfall in funding for the Global Fund, constituent voices will be vital. Stay tuned for action alerts for those of you whose members of Congress will be Appropriations Conferees. Visit our website for more information.
The 16th International HIV/AIDS Conference will take place in Toronto, Canada, from August 13-18, 2006. GAA will be participating in the Conference and we will update you in the next edition of Eyes on the Prize.