The President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) was reauthorized at the end of last year.
The initiative, which began in 2003 under President George W. Bush, has taken on the effort of eradicating HIV/AIDS worldwide.
When the program began in 2003, only 50,000 people in Africa had access to antiretroviral therapy (ART) — now the program supports up to 14 million people through the treatment.
In November, the U.S. Congress passed a bill to reauthorize the program and its mandates through 2023, and the bill went into effect when President Donald Trump signed it into law in December 2018.
The reauthorization extends the program in its current state, with one only major addition being the expansion of funding through PEPFAR to faith-based organizations.
Support for the program has been wide-reaching and bipartisan — an example of politicians meeting across the aisle to support a humanitarian effort that saves lives.
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This story was originally featured in Issue 06 of the Goodnewspaper.
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