AIDS PROJECT LOS ANGELES COMMENDS SENATE PASSAGE
OF KEY GLOBAL AIDS BILL

Los Angeles, Calif., July 16, 2008 – AIDS Project Los Angeles (APLA) today commended the U.S. Senate for passage of the Lantos/Hyde U.S. Global Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Reauthorization Act of 2008 (S 2731). The bill, passed by a vote of 80 to 16 after months of negotiation, reauthorizes the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).

PEPFAR has helped bring lifesaving drugs to 1.7 million people globally. The reauthorized bill commits $48 billion toward fighting HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria in the world’s hardest-hit countries. The reauthorized bill also includes a provision to lift the long-standing statutory ban on HIV-positive people from traveling or immigrating to the U.S.

"This bill will go a long way toward sustaining important momentum in the global fight against HIV and AIDS," said Craig E. Thompson, executive director of AIDS Project Los Angeles.

The bill increases the amount the U.S. spends on global HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria from $15 billion to $48 billion. And for the first time, it includes assistance for programs to prevent the spread of HIV among men who have sex with men (MSM). UNAIDS estimates that only one in 20 MSM around the world has access to prevention, care and treatment they need.

"This bi-partisan legislation does include compromises, so the current bill is not perfect," Thompson said. "It fails to address HIV and family planning issues. It continues to emphasize abstinence education. It prolongs a pledge that grantees will not support prostitution, which often means they cannot serve highly vulnerable sex workers. But these are deficiencies that could be corrected in the future."

AIDS Project Los Angeles (APLA), one of the largest non-profit AIDS service organizations in the United States, provides bilingual direct services, prevention education and leadership on HIV/AIDS-related policy and legislation. Marking 25 years of service in 2008, APLA is a community-based, volunteer-supported organization with local, national and global reach. For more information, visit www.apla.org.