Rep. Mike Pence, who serves the sixth district of Indiana, begins reauthorization of the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief this week.
The reauthorization will begin when the Foreign Affairs Committee in the House of Representatives takes up a bill called "The Global HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Reauthorization Act of 2008," which will continue PEPFAR and increase its funds, Pence said.
"If Congress does not reauthorize the program, the severity of the HIV/AIDS pandemic will only worsen in the global community," he said.
Pence spoke about PEPFAR Wednesday during an international relations class at Ball State University.
The speech, "The President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief: A Program Under Attack," covered the growing global HIV/AIDS pandemic, specifically in Africa, which is home to 70 percent of the world's HIV/AIDS patients, Pence said.
"The need for PEPFAR is clear," he said. "The HIV/AIDS pandemic has infected more than 60 million people worldwide, and it has killed more than 25 million people."
President George W. Bush introduced PEPFAR during his 2003 State of the Union address. PEPFAR was designed to teach leadership in the fight against HIV/AIDS, coordinate programs and synchronize monitoring and evaluating efforts, Pence said.
He said one of the most prominent prevention programs was the ABC Model, "Abstinence, Be Faithful and Consistent and Correct Condom Use." Combining the model with faith-based and non-governmental organizations has produced "undeniable" results, he said.
PEPFAR has specific goals to reach in the 15 countries most affected by the pandemic, he said. Prevention of seven million HIV infections, treatment of two million infections and care for 10 million people either infected or directly affected by HIV/AIDS are among the goals. Providing medicine, health care and funding are ways they plan to accomplish the goals, he said.
"It's not enough to send billions of dollars to Africa without sending value-based techniques that work to fight the spread of HIV/AIDS," he said.
Sophomore Myles Trempe said the presentation was helpful for people who were not familiar with the program.
Political science professor Francine Friedman said the presentation was engaging to the students and not too technical or intimidating.
"It was very interesting, very timely," she said. "It was pitched at a level that students could respond to and understand."
Pence said PEPFAR was under attack. He said the Congressional meetings this week looked to "undermine and dilute this powerful plan."
Provisions in the proposed bill will open funding to overseas groups that promote and provide abortions, he said.
According to Pence's Web site, the unborn child has a fundamental right to life that cannot be infringed. The bill also suggests cutting funds for the abstinence and be faithful programs, two programs that have had success, he said.
According to his Web site, Pence is a conservative who serves on multiple Congressional committees, including the Judiciary Committee and the Foreign Affairs Committee where he serves as ranking member on the Subcommittee on Middle East and South Asia.
"PEPFAR must be reauthorized, and I strongly support doing so," Pence said. "However, I have grave concerns about the direction the current reauthorization bill is taking."
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