IMAGE: CNS photo/Jonathan Ernst, Reuters
By
WASHINGTON
(CNS) — Two Catholic leaders applauded congressional committees for
reauthorizing the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, opening the door
for final passage of a bill to keep the program in place for another five years.
Citing how
the 15-year-old program has saved millions of lives around the world and
prevented millions of new infections, Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio of the U.S.
Archdiocese for the Military Services, chairman of the U.S. bishops’ Committee on
International Justice and Peace, and Sean Callahan, president and CEO of
Catholic Relief Services, said in a statement Oct. 15 the program ensures U.S.
leadership in the campaign against HIV, AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria.
Funds under
the program, known as PEPFAR, support
numerous services such as providing free antiretroviral medicines for eligible
patients, support for families devastated by AIDS, after-school programs for
children whose parents died from the disease and their caregivers,
transportation for health services and counseling.
Callahan and
Archbishop Broglio said the program is worthwhile even though they hold “principled
concerns” about some aspects of PEPFAR and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS through
which funds are funneled that are inconsistent with Catholic teaching.
Therefore, they said, church agencies do not implement or advocate for them.
CRS, the U.S. bishops’ overseas relief and development agency, has
received funding under PEPFAR
since 2004. PEPFAR was supported
by the USCCB after its staff worked to ensure that conscience protections were
included in the law authorizing the program.
PEPFAR “is
one of the most successful global health programs in history demonstrating U.S.
leadership in saving lives and safeguarding human dignity of the most vulnerable
people,” the leaders said.
The number of deaths caused by AIDS and other serious
diseases each year has been reduced by one-third since 2002 in countries where
the Global Fund invests. The program also has supported 6.4 million
orphans, vulnerable children and their caregivers over the years.
“Saving
lives and protecting the future of vulnerable children is a proud U.S. legacy
thanks to the U.S. Congress,” the statement said.
The House
Foreign Affairs Committee approved the reauthorization Sept. 27 while the
Senate Foreign Relations Committee passed the measure Oct. 3.
A final
vote on the bill in both houses of Congress is expected this fall.
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