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 LetterJune, 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 LetterJune, 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 LetterMay, 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