I was in Washington DC last week for a Board meeting of Children’s AIDS Fund (CAF). This is a group who have been serving the HIV/AIDS community since 1984! Today, our primary purpose is to oversee the distribution of funds from President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). These funds, committed by President Bush are to help the most needy in 16 countries of the world with HIV/AIDS medication. CAF works in Malawi, Uganda, and South Africa and provides these life-saving drugs to over 38,000 people every month!!
What a great success PEPFAR has been. Almost 2 million people worldwide are alive today because of President Bush and this program. No matter what your political view of good old “George W” is, he has left a legacy of ‘life’ in PEPFAR. Right before he left office, the President requested and was approved by Congress, 48 BILLION dollars for the next five years! That will sustain the life of those 2 million and possibly add another 2 million!!
But it appears that the Obama administration is not happy with the President George Bush legacy for those with HIV/AIDS. It appears that they don’t want to remember George for anything, especially for helping people with HIV/AIDS. It looks like, at least with what I see, that over the next two years, we’ll see those PEPFAR funds plus another 15 Billion dollars more ‘moved’ into the ‘World Health Initiative’ a new program with a focus on ‘family planning,’ often a liberal term for abortion. It appears that is comes, not with the approval of Congress of course which is required by law. Just quietly moving $ 63 billion dollars from one fund to another, and maybe no one will notice. I guess cutting off the medication to 3 million+ people, mostly Africans, who will die without it is more important to this administration than continuing a really ‘good thing’ started by a good president and a wonderful nation. I hope I’m wrong!