PEPFAR Reauthorization

PEPFAR Reauthorized for One Year

On March 23, 2024, the US Congress passed a funding bill that was signed by President Biden and includes a one-year reauthorization for PEPFAR (which would need to be reauthorized again on March 25th, 2025). While CCIH is grateful the reauthorization continues the bipartisan consensus and support of global health programs, we hope Congress will use this extra time to provide a multi-year reauthorization to PEPFAR soon. This would allow partners to more accurately plan out their own activities and support programs that address HIV/AIDS. See more below about the challenges to PEPFAR, unfounded rumors and how CCIH and others in the faith community have responded in defense of PEPFAR, one of the most successful and lifesaving health programs.

Rumors Regarding PEPFAR and Abortions

The 2023 PEPFAR (the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief) reauthorization was complicated by rumors that the program funds abortions. Shepherd Smith, Co-founder of Children’s AIDS Fund International has been a strong advocate for and involved in Christian work to care for and provide support for people living with HIV for many years, going back to before PEPFAR’s creation.

Shepherd Smith researched the situation and found no evidence to support the rumor that PEPFAR is funding – or has funded – abortion or promoted abortion and wrote a summary of his findings, as well as an opinion piece explaining why Why a One-Year PEPFAR-Reauthorization Is a Really Bad Idea. In the piece Shepherd explains the pitfalls of the one-year reauthorization and presents why conservatives and pro-life advocates who have knowledge about the program and work in developing countries have always been supportive of PEPFAR.

Opinion Pieces from Faith Actors Supporting a Clean PEPFAR Reauthorization

CCIH, the Christian Health Association of Kenya and the Cameroon Baptist Convention Health Services contributed to this opinion piece posted by the Global AIDS Policy Partnership on “Why Christian Organizations Want Congress to Reauthorize PEPFAR.”

In this opinion piece in the New York Times, Father Richard Bauer shares his experience working for 25 years in clinics for people with HIV in Kenya, Tanzania and Namibia and the transformational impact he saw from PEPFAR. Father Bauer is a Roman Catholic priest with the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers who serves as a hospital chaplain and social worker. In the piece, he expresses his support for a clean five-year PEPFAR reauthorization and debunks the rumors that PEPFAR funds have been used for abortions.

World Relief President and CEO Myal Greene wrote an opinion piece published in The Hill about PEPFAR and why he supports it: PEPFAR is a pro-life miracle – evangelicals must continue to support it.

Advocacy Resources

CCIH Advocacy Toolkit

CCIH released this advocacy toolkit in 2022 that we hope members will be able to use and customize to achieve their advocacy goals. We aim for it to be useful for organizations that have been advocating for years, as well as for those who are just beginning. To help guide development of the toolkit, CCIH conducted several focus group conversations with members to learn more about their advocacy outreach and ways that CCIH might be more effective in supporting those efforts.

CCIH Advocacy Advisor Bob Noziglia wrote this blogpost to share some highlights of those conversations and what we’ve learned, as well as a follow up piece to explore the influence of faith communities a little deeper. We hope you will use the toolkit and we would appreciate hearing from you about your thoughts or suggestions for advocacy tools so we can continuously improve the toolkit.

CCIH Voice on the Global Stage

CCIH staff participate in many advisory councils, coalitions, communities of practice, networks, roundtables, and working groups to share our expertise on a variety of issues and speak up for faith-based actors. See a list of groups

Why Christians Support Strong Global Health Programs

This two-page brief explains why US support of strong global health programs aligns with Christian values and is a wise investment to protect security and economies.

Christian Voices on the Importance of Advocacy

In this video, CCIH members explain the value of U.S. foreign assistance and why advocating and speaking out for those without a voice is important to them as Christians.


Issues & Actions

July, 2024

Protecting Life with Compassionate Aid in FY 2025

CCIH joined 63 other organizations in signing onto a letter urging the US Senate to safeguard and invest in critical funding for peacebuilding, human rights, humanitarian aid, migration, international climate finance, poverty-focused development assistance and related accounts in the Fiscal Year 2025 Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs (SFOPs) appropriations bill. The letter expresses concerns about funding cuts included in the House-passed SFOPs appropriations bill (H.R. 8771) and urges the Senate to support programs that prevent and address international crises and protect life, and protect the United States’ legacy of compassionate aid and international leadership.

See The Letter

June, 2024

June 2024 Non-Defense Discretionary Funding Letter

CCIH joined 1,105 organizations in calling on Congress to reject funding levels for Fiscal Year 2025 and appropriate the necessary non-defense discretionary funds to keep up with rising costs and demand. Non-defense discretionary investments, which account for less than one-sixth of the federal budget, fund vital services like scientific research, veteran healthcare, and infrastructure. The letter urges Congress to ensure funding to meet the nation’s needs and protect key services.

See The Letter

June, 2024

GHC FY25 House SFOPS Topline Community Letter

CCIH and 61 other organizations signed the Global Health Council’s letter urging Congress to fund global health, nutrition, WASH, and biosafety programs through the International Affairs account in FY25. The proposed 10–11% cuts to the State and Foreign Operations budget fall short of the necessary funding to address global crises. Increased investments in these programs save lives, support U.S. foreign assistance priorities, and yield significant economic returns. The Council also calls for continued support of multilateral institutions and a clean reauthorization of PEPFAR for at least 5 years to sustain progress in global health initiatives.

See The Letter

May, 2024

Support for Gavi, the vaccine alliance

CCIH joined other civil society organizations in sending a letter to US President Joe Biden thanking the Administration for its support of access to COVID vaccines globally and requesting support for a pledge from the US for $1.4 billion over four years to Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. The letter highlights that the US Government has been partnering with Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance through USAID to ensure children everywhere receive life-saving vaccinations. Gavi has a phenomenal track record of achieving results; their routine child immunization programs have reached more than one billion children and prevented more than 17 million deaths.

See The Letter

Advocacy Stories

CCIH Advocacy Teams Share Faith-based Work in Global Health

On June 10th, 2019 CCIH hosted its annual Advocacy Day. This year, we had 10 CCIH members from Ghana, Lesotho, Kenya, Malawi, Uganda, Zaire, and Zimbabwe, as well as six CCIH members based in Maryland, Massachusetts, and Michigan. The teams met with 15 Congressional Offices (14 in the…

CCIH Joins Partners in Malaria Day Hill Reception

Malaria Day Hill Reception On May 7, 2019 CCIH and partners from the Malaria Roundtable (Malaria No More, American Society Tropical Medicine & Hygiene, PATH, United Nations Foundation, Nothing But Nets, and Friends of the Global Fight Against AIDS, TB, and Malaria) co-sponsored a Hill Reception to recognize…

CCIH Members Meet with U.S. Senators to Show Support for Foreign Assistance

Interfaith Working Group for Foreign Assistance Faith Leader Fly-In On May 1, 2019, CCIH participated in the Interfaith Working Group for Foreign Assistance Faith Leader Fly-In where faith leaders meet with Congressional offices to highlight the importance of preserving and expanding these life-saving initiatives. Dr. Perry Jansen, Senior…

CCIH Advocates Take Message to Capitol Hill

Immediately following the conference on July 16, 2018 three groups of CCIH members went to Capitol Hill to advocate for global health and development programs and to discuss the vital role of faith-based organizations in providing care. The three teams had representatives from five U.S. states and eight…

Capitol Hill Briefing on Healthy Families and the Role of Faith Communities

CCIH held a briefing on Capitol Hill on Healthy Families and Communities and the Role of Faith Communities on July 17, 2018 following the CCIH Annual Conference and Advocacy Day. The briefing was moderated by Dr. Alma Golden, Deputy Assistant Administrator, USAID Bureau for Global Health (shown at…

Scripture Motivates Young Advocate to Visit Congress

Love is not just sympathizing with the miseries of others, instead it means making every effort to alleviate their suffering. – Olushola Ogunleye, Liberty University Student and CCIH Advocate The account in Matthew 15:32-39 is one of many places in scripture that inspired Liberty University student Olushola Ogunleye…

CCIH Brings Christian Global Health Work to Capitol Hill

Following the conference on June 20, 2016, three teams of CCIH advocates visited offices on Capitol Hill to discuss the importance of U.S. foreign assistance and the work of Christian organizations in global health. One team visited the offices of Representative Dave Rouzer (R-N.C.), Senator James Lankford (R-Tex.),…

Students Meet with U.S. Congressmen and Staff to Share Christian Perspective

Liberty University student Olubunmi Sharon Obayemi said she always wanted to be a Christian voice encouraging U.S. leaders to support health care for women and children in need. In October 2015 she got her chance when she came to Washington, DC along with other Liberty students participating in…

Christian Global Health Advocates Visit Capitol Hill

On June 29, 2015, 25 advocates from 11 different nations visited Capitol Hill to express their appreciation for U.S. support for global health programs, and share their experiences regarding the critical role faith groups play in health around the globe. Advocates came from Benin, Cameroon, Kenya, Liberia, Nepal,…

Advocacy Day 2014

    The advocates were divided into small groups and visited 26 Capitol Hill offices, including the offices of 19 Republicans and seven Democrats. They shared their personal stories of the positive impacts of U.S. foreign assistance and the support among Christians for international family planning for improved…

Advocacy Day 2013: Global Health Advocates “Tell it from the Heart”

A little rain and waves of tourists didn’t deter Joy Mukaire of the Christian Health Association of South Sudan from her goal of sharing a very important message on Capitol Hill in June 2013. “The message I wanted to put across was that women’s health is at stake….